And the Circle Comes Round
by JUCHKO
Summary: Sakura returns, only to find that the old woman was telling the truth. Now she's been captured by the Akatsuki for reasons unknown. Her heart is torn between love, hate, and the mass confusion that comes of finding out things she never wanted to be true.
1. Return

Disclaimer: remember…if you are confused, then I've done my job…

**Important!**: This is a sequel to 'A continuous circle', so if you haven't read that, go to my profile and read that before you read this. If you don't you will be lost beyond belief.

Also, to those who have read. This is taking place not long after Tobi joined the Akatsuki. But he is not a Uchiha nor is he the person Pein reports to. He is just the youngest, newest, member of the Akatsuki. Also, I would like to warn you ahead of time that because I am not up to date with the manga/anime (due to the fact that I can only see as far as what is shown on Toonami) that I may mess some things up that have to do with the Akatsuki (and possibly other things too). So, you've been pre-warned. (I can't get to any of the websites that have the updated manga/anime because my computer stinks…I can't even get onto Wikipedia or Google Images!)

If anyone wants to send me info on the Akatsuki at the time around Tobi's joining, you may. I would especially like for people to tell me about the members personalities (that way I don't make them too OOC).

In this story:

-Sakura is 15 almost 16

-Itachi is 24 & Kakashi is 27 (because I messed with their ages)

-Sasuke, Naruto and so on are 16 other than Team Gai who are 17

Oh, and it's important to know that in this time (because I think Naruto is most like way back in the past) it is common for people to marry as young as sixteen (because that's the way it was, way-back-when).

Ok…I'm tired of having to PM people this, so I'm going to tell you all now. Please, do not use His name in vein when you review…I am religious. Thank you.

Now…onto the story…

**Chapter 1: Return**

This time Sakura was conscious as she flew through the white light that she guessed indicated time travel. She felt as if her heart had been made of glass and had shattered. It had already happened once before, with Sasuke, and now it had happened again. Where the Uchiha brothers destined to not only shatter but demolish her heart?

Sasuke Uchiha had broken her heart and left with a part of it. It had taken her years to glue the pieces that he had left back together. Then she had used the Scroll of the Circle and gone back to the past. There she had met and fallen in love with Itachi …and foolishly she had though she could stop the massacre. But then that old woman, her great-grandmother, just had to come and point out her foolishness.

She and Itachi had just found out they loved each other. She had been so sure she had changed things…but according to her great-grandmother, who she deep down knew was correct…she had only made Itachi into the very person she had tried to steer him away from. He wouldn't even remember her…

She wasn't sure when exactly during that conversation it had happened, but right as she had felt herself slipping away from that time she noticed that her heart had been broken yet again, this time into even smaller pieces…and another large piece had been taken by yet another Uchiha.

Sakura tore her thoughts away from her shattered heart…the old woman had warned her that she would be in danger as soon as she returned to her own time…and she didn't know how long her trip in this white abyss would last. She had to be ready for anything.

Her heart sank, she wasn't even dressed appropriately for a battle. She was still wearing her Yukata from the festival and she didn't have any weapons. What was worse, her use of her Kekkei Genkai had drained her Chakra greatly. She still had some, luckily, but not much. If she had to fight right away she would have to be careful how much she used.

The only good thing she could think of was that at least this time she had her Leaf forehead protector. That wouldn't do her much good, but it was comforting to know she had it all the same. She knew that she should be preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, but…she felt that there could be no 'best' when she couldn't bring herself to feel 'hope'. She had hoped so much during her little trip to the past…but now all those hopes had been dashed and she couldn't bring herself to try to hope again. Not when all her efforts before were for nothing.

Sakura knew that tears were still pouring from her eyes, but she couldn't stop them. It was like the dam that had been holding them back had suddenly been removed and the tears were going to flood with a vengeance. She wiped her eyes until the worst of the tears were gone. Just as she felt that she would soon stop crying the whiteness seemed to start to fade.

Sakura moved into a fighting stance, unsure of what to expect. The white dulled for an unknowable amount of time, then suddenly it flashed brighter than it had ever been. Sakura had to shield her eyes, it was so bright. When she could look she found that she was exactly where she had been when she first opened the Scroll of the Circle.

Then suddenly the sound and sights of this time hit her and she knew that the old woman hadn't been kidding when she'd said she would return only to pop up right smack-dab in the middle of a fight between the Akatsuki and Sound.

Sakura hid the fear she felt trembling through her as she saw that the two Akatsuki members and the ten Sound ninja had stopped mid battle and were looking at her. Her great-grandmother hadn't been kidding about _that _either…

* * *

Itachi had been restless all day, not that he'd shown it. He was currently leaning against a wall at one of their bases, his eyes closed, ignoring the three other Akatsuki members who were there too. It had been almost two months since the day they had reported the 'disappearing girl' and the burn mark she'd left behind to the Leader.

It had also been almost two months since he touched that burn mark and remembered everything. Until then he had noticed major blank spots in his memory, but he had ignored them, acting on his gut feeling instead of what he couldn't remember. Now he knew what fit into all those blank spots…or more importantly, _who_.

The Leader hadn't seemed too surprised when they'd told him what had happened. In fact, he had acted like he had been expecting it. He immediately ordered some of them to take turns keeping an eye on the burn mark. When the first part of the mark disappeared, the Leader told them that they would check up on it once a week until it was almost gone, and then they would resume their daily surveillance.

Just the day before there had been only two marks left and the Leader finally told them what they were watching the mark for, though Itachi had already guessed. They were waiting for the 'disappearing girl' to reappear, and that when she did, they were to capture her alive and in one piece. To everyone's surprise he had gone on to warn them not to harm her more than necessary to capture her. He also left out the reason for their need to capture her.

It was currently Deidara's and Tobi's turn to watch over the sole mark that was left. That was why Itachi was restless and why he was agitated. He had, of course, told Leader what he'd remembered and once again Leader had looked like he had been expecting something like that. He had asked Leader to let him be the one to wait for her, but all Leader would agree to was to add him and Kisame to the group that was to send two members, that would switch every eight hours, to keep an eye on the mark and to capture the girl if she appeared.

He hadn't been happy about having to be in a group, but he hadn't argued. He'd know the moment she returned anyways, even if he wasn't the one on duty at the time of her return. After all, he now remembered everything that had to do with her. All those years ago, after he'd figured out he loved her and had then been faced with the experience of being separated from her when she was in danger, he'd known he would need a way to find her wherever she was. That was why he'd-

Itachi's eyes snapped open, his tie to her had just reappeared…Sakura was back. He didn't waste a moment in explanation, he left in the blink of an eye. He knew Kisame would follow him and that the other two would let him leave; but none of them would try to stop him. None of them were that stupid.

* * *

Sakura stared at them, they stared at her…everything had gone still and silent. Then the moment was shattered as there came a large explosion and a cloud of dust. Sakura didn't wait to see who was alive and who was dead, she just ran for the forest, her best chance of escape.

She had just barely made it to the edge of the forest when a bomb exploded near her, sending her flying into a tree. Sakura only had time to regain her composure before the two Akatsuki members appeared nearby. Behind them she could see the dead bodies of the Sound ninja.

Sakura focused all her attention on the two Akatsuki, ignoring the pain of the impact. One she recognized as Deidara, the bomb expert (that explained all the explosions). The other had on an orange mask that hid all but one of his eyes. Sakura didn't wait for either of them to make the first move, she decided that now was the time to use what was left of her Chakra. She hit the ground, making it break into tiny pieces under the Akatsuki member's feet. This effectively got them off balance, giving her just enough time to turn, rip the tree out of the ground, and swing it quickly in a wide ark at them.

They barely missed being hit by the tree, but they couldn't escape the draft that the tree created. They were sent flying, but Sakura didn't wait to see them land. She quickly dropped the tree and ran into the forest. She ran as hard as she could, ignoring her pain and how weird it felt to be running in a Yukata. She knew that if they caught back up to her she'd be between a rock and a hard place. She was tiring and she had just used up pretty much all of the little Chakra she had had. She wasn't sure she'd be able to fend off another attack if it came. Her only hope was to lose them in the forest.

But luck had never been on her side, and it proved that it still wasn't going to be on her side when she barely dodged an attack from a third Akatsuki member. Sakura mentally cursed herself, she should have thought about the prospect of there being others nearby.

When she saw who it was who had attacked her, her heart leapt to her throat. It was Kisame…that meant that Itachi had to be nearby. Sakura knew that she wouldn't be able to face Itachi with her heart in the shambles it was in. So she did the only thing she could do in this situation…she ran. But once again luck seemed to want to rub it in that it wasn't on her side.

She had only run about fifty paces when she found herself faced by the two Akatsuki she had originally been running from. Now there was no easy way to escape and she was at the edge of her limits. Sakura frowned, they were closing in, but for some reason they weren't attacking, even though they had the advantage.

Then Sakura remembered what her great-grandmother had told her when she'd said she'd fight to the death if she had to. They wouldn't fight her to the death…because they wanted to capture her alive. Sakura smirked mentally, _finally_, something that she could use to her advantage. If they didn't want to kill her, then they'd be holding back…and if they hesitated in their attack for even a fraction of a second…she could escape.

Sakura waited until they were close enough, then she made her move. She feigned an attacked at the closest one to her, Kisame…and there it was, that moment of uncertainty. She dashed past him as he hesitated and kept on going. She made the hand signs the moment she knew she was hidden by a large tree. Using the last of her available Chakra she made a perfect clone who continued running as she hid behind the tree.

To her relief, the three Akatsuki members fell for it, but she knew it wouldn't last very long. They had only been fooled because they knew she was wearing out and they wanted to capture her alive. Sakura felt dead tiered, but she knew she had to keep running. If she stopped now, she knew she'd be unable to continue.

She turned and ran in a different direction then had her clone. She ran and ran, but luck still was not on her side. It wasn't long before she heard the Akatsuki behind her. She hesitated a moment, then risked a glance behind her and saw that all three were catching up with her. Then luck decided to show its dislike for her once again.

Looking back hadn't been a good chance to take when she knew luck had it out for her. She ran into something and stumbled backwards, biting back a gasp as pain shot through her chest. Her head swerved forwards as she regained her balance and saw what she had run into.

She froze and her heart skipped a beat as she looked up at not _what _she had run into, but _who_. Itachi…it was Itachi. She should have never looked back and she shouldn't have hesitated…because now that she had stopped running, her fatigue caught up with her. Her fatigue, paired with her emotional turbulence, was her undoing. She couldn't make herself move, she couldn't bring herself to look away from him, even though she knew he wouldn't remember that he had ever loved her.

It was all too much for her exhausted body. Her vision tunneled and she felt herself begin to fall. She didn't even know if she said it out loud or not, but she tried to ask, "Why?" And then everything went dark.

* * *

And that's the first chapter! I hope you liked it. **The epilogue of A continuous circle won't be explained until the end of this story**…so you'll just have to wait!

Reviews and constructive criticisms only…no flames allowed! (You know the drill.) Now…on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: icegoddess52 (you'll just have to wait to find out), Lenore Hepburn (however long it needs to be), Fallen Love, Hugs4Gaara07, DeidaraAddiction, Dreamergirl92813, krazykoreangurl, Sakimi1014, Shadow Ninja, won't be the Victim, bubbleyum, DemonicAngel08, Sage Phoneix (I know…I did that on purpose), Crazy Neko Girl, MaC Of The Insect People (yes, I know…but Nebraska is large…you'd have a hard time finding me. Do you know how many small towns out in the middle of nowhere there are in Nebraska?), Itachi4Eva, SpeedDemon315, Defiant-Crayon, cherryblossomsky, SnowSkadi, MizukiAKAZuki, snowecat, uknown (I have no way of sending it to Masashi Kishimotto…and I doubt he'd care about a fanfic),Kagome093, pinky101, Sandlewood996, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Gothic Raven, inu-babi-00, Chibi Kabuto, Nekory-Sama, CosenAngel, Starlight - Wild Koneko, xnarutoxrocksx, Quiet Moon, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, Shade, Cnguyen456 (you'll just have to wait and see), ., Rangerette, Ur-Bloody-Valentine, xokatherine229, sakura-angel113, chikarubunny (Thanks, and yes…I did make the epilogue vague on purpose), Addi-Chan, magickbendingdemon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, AppleBlossom69, Chocochip Haruka (I thank you for your kind words), Jax9, moonhuntress09, Flower of the Desert, The Reveiwer known as Name, animelover123456, Malignant-Librarian, meisi, NARUTARDMJR14, Hao'sAnjul, Jane, kiwi-kikia, inn0centdr3ameR, Gothic Saku-chan, tonnora, XxKayxKayxX, Kasaru Hatake, Ilse Montage, drake999 (that's what the sequel's for), & Makokam (you know…if you killed me…you'd never get a sequel) for reviewing!


	2. Captured

Disclaimer: Do I really need to explain…?

**Chapter 2: Captured**

Itachi easily caught Sakura as she began to fall…he also caught her quietly mumbled question. But she was already unconscious so he knew there would be no point in saying anything. He picked her up, cradling her against his chest as he heard Kisame exclaim angrily, "Finally! It was hard to keep from cutting her to pieces!" Itachi ignored Kisame's comment as he looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. He could tell she'd been crying.

Just then Deidara spoke, "We should take her to where Leader told us to, Yeah?" Itachi nodded and they set out. As they sped through the forest, Itachi thought about the girl in his arms. He felt better, just being able to hold her. Until now he'd felt like a part of him was missing and an empty hole was left in its place. He'd felt like that ever since he was thirteen, but he hadn't remembered why he felt like that until he touched the burn mark and remembered everything he'd forgotten.

Then he'd known what had caused it. It had been her being torn from him by the old Hoshi woman that had left that empty place inside of him. Now he was holding her for the first time in ten years, and a part of that chasm was filled just by doing so. But there was still much left to be filled, and he knew that only this girl, the only person he loved, could do it. He also knew it would be a while before that happened.

He had seen the look in her eyes when she'd seen him. It had been filled with many different emotions. There had been surprise, anger, sadness, love, pain, loathing, confusion, fear, and even more emotions that he couldn't name. He knew that because of that old Hoshi, she'd be blaming herself for what he'd done. He also knew that she still thought he didn't remember her…and that she would think that that would mean that he didn't love her anymore. But he did.

He still loved her, and he knew she still loved him, but he knew something else too. He knew that though she loved him, she would have a hard time accepting that fact. After all, it had been hard for her to accept it back in the past, when he hadn't yet killed his clan. She had had a hard time accepting it then and she'd have a harder time accepting it now, now that he was once again the S-class criminal she had tried to stop him from becoming.

Knowing her as he (now) did, he guessed that she may not even believe him if he told her he still loved her. She'd think it impossible. He knew she'd think he had become heartless after he'd killed his clan…most people did. He'd just have to prove to her that it wasn't that he was heartless, just that he'd given his heart to her ten years ago, before she disappeared…and that she still had it, as he knew he still had hers.

It wouldn't be easy, but he would prove his love to her. He would take things as slowly as he had to, but he _would _make her his again. That was a fact.

But so was it a fact that he didn't know why Leader wanted her, only that he didn't want her harmed and that it had something to do with her father. But as long as nothing bad happened to her, he wouldn't interfere with the Leaders plans.

Itachi came out of his reserve when he heard Deidara start yelling at Tobi…something about taking all the credit. Itachi's face didn't change at all as he continued through the forest. He was used to their squabbling, and as long as it stayed verbal he wouldn't do anything about it. But if their bickering put his Sakura in danger, he would step in and settle things himself.

* * *

Sakura was in darkness…unending darkness. Her ability to think only went as far as to notice that there was darkness. For the longest time even she was a part of the darkness. It would be a longer time yet before she noticed anything other than the darkness.

* * *

Itachi was glad when Deidara finally went quiet. They were already almost to the place where Leader had told them to bring her. Only a few more minutes and they'd be there. He looked back down at Sakura, noticing what about her had changed, and what had not. 

She was older than she had been ten years ago, but not by the ten years he had aged. Her hair hadn't changed at all. Her face was slightly more grown up and her body was more developed, but that was to be expected, she was a teenager now. He knew now that she was closer to his brothers age, probably even a bit younger. She most likely wasn't even sixteen yet.

There was one other thing he noticed as he held her. She was very light. It had been the same way ten years ago, he remembered. He had carried her a few times back then too, and had thought the same thing. It was extremely easy to carry her because he could barely even feel her weight.

As he continued to study her, he decided that, if it was possible, she was even more beautiful now than she had been ten years ago.

Itachi slowed to a walk, as did the others, as they came in sight of the place they had been told to bring her. It looked simple on the outside, but looks could be deceiving. The inside was anything but simple. The best anyone would be able to describe it would be as a labyrinth, above and below ground.

They walked inside and headed to the room where they normally reported. They had almost reached the room when a blue haired woman with a flower in her hair, wearing the Akatsuki robe, came into view. She looked like she had been waiting for them. When she saw Sakura in Itachi's arms she paused, then walked forward to meet them.

Her voice was quiet as she said "So, we finally meet her." She then held out her arms as she said, "I'm to take her from here." She looked at Itachi sternly, almost daring him to disobey. Itachi didn't take the bait. Instead he reluctantly transferred Sakura gently to the only female Akatsuki member's grasp. Once she was holding Sakura she said, "You're to go to the debriefing room, as normal, to report."

She turned around and began to leave, but then Kisame asked, "Hey, what's so important about the girl? Do you know, Konan?"

The blue haired woman stopped walking and glanced back as she answered, "Whether I know or not is of no consequence, since I haven't the authority to tell you. Go to the debriefing room…maybe he'll tell you, maybe he won't." She looked away from them and began walking again. As she went, she said seriously, "All I can tell you is that she _is _important…_very _important…"

Her voice trailed off as she turned a corner and went out of sight. It was Tobi who reminded everyone what they were supposed to be doing. "Tobi thinks we shouldn't make Leader wait." Everyone knew he was right, so they began walking again, headed for the debriefing room.

* * *

The blue haired woman, Yuri Konan, carried the young woman down into the labyrinth until she reached the room that had been prepared especially for the girl. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She then moved to the center of the room where there was a bed and laid the unconscious girl gently down onto it. She then stood back and took in the state the girl was in. 

She was wearing a Yukata that had once been nice, but was now tattered and ruined. That had most likely happened during the capture attempt. She had a number of small cuts and scrapes, probably also from the capture. She seemed to be breathing easily, which was good. But there was one thing she was worried about that she had noticed while she had carried her.

She turned and went to a closet and came back with what she needed. These things she put on the bed near the girl. Next she went to the girl and began to take the rags that had once been a Yukata off of her, reveling that the girl's whole back was one massive bruise. That wasn't what she was worried about though. She had noticed as she'd carried the pink haired girl that one of her ribs had moved in a way it shouldn't have. That meant that at least one, maybe more, of her ribs was fractured or possibly even broken.

She'd been told that this young woman was an accomplished medic, but she knew that the girl wouldn't be able to heal herself for a while, not with the condition she was in. There wasn't much she could do about the rib, seeing as she wasn't a medic. But she knew enough to know it would be better to bind the ribs tight, so that they wouldn't cause more damage. After all, a broken rib could puncture a lung, or worse.

She took a linen bandage and set to work. Once she'd done all she could for the ribs, she began to treat the smaller cuts and scrapes. It wouldn't do for the young woman to get an infection just because she hadn't cleaned a scratch. By the time she finished that, the young woman was shivering. That wasn't surprising; not only was it still winter, but they were below ground.

She looked at the Yukata, but instantly looked away. That thing was torn to pieces already; it would do her no good. She returned to the closet, put the medical supplies away, and sighed at how barren the closet was. She had gotten the pink haired girl some clothing when she'd found out that she was going to stay. Sadly there still wasn't much, and now that she looked at it, most of what she'd gotten would be way too big for the girl.

She shook her head and took out a large shirt that would be more like a dress on this girl's body. She returned and dressed the pink haired girl as gently as she could, careful not to hurt her. Once the pink haired girl was wearing the shirt/dress, she couldn't help but find the picture comical.

She frowned, the girl was still shivering. If she had had time to finished preparing the room, she would have put her under the covers of the bed. But the way things were, there were no covers on the bed because she hadn't gotten around to getting them yet. She had an idea and returned to the closet.

She easily found what she was looking for and returned to the girl. She laid the black robe with its red clouds over the girl's small body. Not long afterwards the pink haired girl stopped shivering. The cloak was just a tad bit too big, but it was much closer to the girl's real size than anything else she'd gotten for the girl.

That, in and of itself, could be considered ironic. The fact that something that was made solely for the Akatsuki fit her better than the things that were made for anyone to wear. It truly was ironic, considering…what she knew.

She checked the girl again, tucking the edges of the robe around her petite form. After she did that she picked up the ragged Yukata, planning to get rid of it, when something fell from the folds of the cloth and hit the floor with a small clang. She bent down and picked up what had fallen out of the Yukata, though from where in the Yukata she wasn't sure, she thought she had checked every possible hiding place in case there were hidden weapons.

It was a forehead protector. She turned it over and saw the Leaf symbol that indicated the village the pink haired girl had come from. She thought about taking it with her, but then she decided otherwise and walked back to the girl. She laid the forehead protector near the girls head, then turned her eyes to the girls face.

On that face she saw determination, and though it was hard to tell, considering that the girl was unconscious, she thought her face also looked pained. She turned around and headed for the door. Of course the girl wouldn't be happy, she'd just been captured by the Akatsuki. And she couldn't say for sure, but she had a feeling that the girl wouldn't be finding out why she'd been captured for a while. She'd probably come up with horrible and unlikely reasons for her capture and fret herself sick.

But then again, she couldn't really think of what would be more unlikely than the true reason the girl had been captured. It was because she knew the true reason that she thought that the girl wouldn't be finding out any time soon. It was most likely that they would wait for her to get accustomed to living amongst the Akatsuki before she was told anything.

* * *

The hologram of the leader had just finished listening to the report of what had happened. Now he spoke, "Very well…Now that she has been brought here, your mission will be changing. You've said that Sound ninja were after her…I expect that they may not be the only ones after her. For that reason, the four of you will be making sure that no one is able to get to her. You will probably have to make sure, at least for now, that she doesn't try to run away as well." 

"I will be giving the other two who were assigned to this mission a different mission. You shouldn't need more than the four of you to stop her from getting out and others from getting in." He paused, then added, "Also, you are to treat her with respect. Her Chakra will be suppressed, but she could still hurt you if you aren't careful."

The Leader paused, and Tobi asked almost childishly, "Tobi still doesn't even know the pretty girls name."

Deidara hit his head and Kisame showed signs of holding back laughter. Itachi kept his face bland, but he wasn't happy with Tobi. To their surprise, the Leader didn't get angry at him. Instead he just answered, bored, "You've probably heard of her…she's Tsunade's apprentice…Sakura Haruno." The hologram flickered off, and the tension in the room eased a little.

The room was silent. Everyone knew the name Sakura Haruno. She was the one who had killed Sasori. Her medical skills were said to be second only to Tsunade's…it was even rumored that she had surpassed Tsunade. That meant she was strong, much stronger than anyone would have guessed. Only Itachi wasn't surprised.

Just then the door opened and Yuri came in. "I'll show you which room she's in. I've locked the door, though I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon. You can decide who's going to stand watch at her door…" Her eyes hardened as she said, "but you will not be going in." Her face returned to being blank, "I'm going to get her some clothes…even mine would be too big for her. You will not be allowed into her room until she is properly dressed." She turned to leave, then paused and turned back to look at Tobi as she said, "Oh, and don't forget _you _have something you have to do. I suggest you let the others guard her until you've seen to your other duty." she turned around and left without another word.

Tobi rushed out the door, heading in a different direction, saying, "Oh no, Tobi forgot!" The others followed Yuri silently.

* * *

Sakura finally separated herself from the darkness, but nothing happened other than that. She was still in darkness…and she still wasn't aware of anything outside that darkness…but at least she now knew she wasn't the darkness.

* * *

I hope you like it. Just a reminder, because school will be starting soon, I won't be updating as much. How often I update will depend on how much free time I have. 

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome…but this is a no smoking zone, so no flames. Now…on to the (long) _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Corrupt Blossom, Dreamergirl92813, Hatake Kai, Alone in a Blizzard, SpeedDemom315, animelover123456, Challa, CosenAngel, Hugs4Gaara07, Sage Phoneix (You flatter me), Kiri Yumiko, White Wolf Pheonix, MissSakuraUchiha (I will try), UwIllNevERn0, DemonicAngel08 (It will be however long it needs to be), chester-roxs, Friesenator, LadySakuraForest, SnowSkadi (thanks for the info), SakuraHaruno89, unknown, anime queen420, BlackElement7, inu-babi-00, Wingless Arrow, Suzuki Uzumaki, pinkcherryblossom225, Kasaru Hatake, Jax9, Chibi Saku-Chan, Ri- 16-Chan, Anonymous, xokatherine229, tsuki-kage, Silence, Could-Careless, Snow Wing, sakura-angel113, puppydog20038, Uchihaitachi2007, DragonMaster Reborn, Jess Ishtar, fallin'sakura-tenshi, Itachi4Eva (yeah, I know that it's a mix between past and future…but the way society is run reminds me more of back in the past), baka-chan, Mistress Persephone, Chaerring Trinity (you'll just have to wait and see), badbunny1818, Jester08, Crazy Neko Girl, I-Love-Akatsuki, moonhuntress09, demon-lulu, TheFirstTime, Fallen Love (thanks), Ginny-cry, GreenEyedGrimKitty, TenshiAkki-Chan, scarletpyro91, magickbendingdemon, Starlight - Wild Koneko, xnarutoxrocksx, angelica, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Straight from the Produce Section, LovesXRamenX2Xmuch123, Hitachiru-Chan, OkamiEmi (I did go back and found some of those errors…hopefully all of them), The Reveiwer known as Name, Akatsuki's-Kunoichi, Sunset Sky, fionfee (thanks, though I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by 'I kept it in the same form'), meisi, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, inuyasha2847684, LenoreHepburn, changeling child, Perfect Weapon, Krazykoreangurl, (insert), DeidaraAddiction, SakuBlossomOfTheSand, UchihaMarina, Chibi Kabuto, Rangerette, Nekory-Sama, butterfly breeze (Epilogue is like a prologue…just that prologues begin a story and epilogues end it. Both often show things that don't fit in with the main flow of the story, but that are important to know. Epilogues especially tend to be a while into the future so that you know how things ended up. In a sense, they tie up all the loose ends.), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, oOfunkyrainbowOo, DudettRin101, Kagome093, Chocochip Haruka, Blackmusasabi, Hao'sAnjul, bubbleyum, Sandlewood996, Ilse Montague, chikarubunny, kiwi-kikia, Sailor Silver Moon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Sadistic Uchiha, & sailor emerald for reviewing!


	3. Unconscious

Disclaimer: Nope, no owner in sight...sorry...actually...no, i'm not sorry...you should have already known that...

**Chapter 3: Unconscious**

Suddenly Sakura was aware that she had been in the darkness for a long time. But she didn't know how long she'd been there or for how much longer she'd stay. Thoughts suddenly started pouring in out of nowhere. Or maybe it was that her thoughts were flowing out of somewhere to meet her in nowhere. Now that she thought about it…where was she? What had happened?

Next came the memories, flooding her existence with theirs. They came in a torrent, and left her feeling dazed. She must be unconscious…either that or she was dead and just didn't know it. But no…why would she be dead? Hadn't the Akatsuki been trying to capture her alive? Wait! The Akatsuki! If she was unconscious…that meant they had her! No!

She didn't want to be captured…she didn't want to be a prisoner! She didn't want to be like a bird in a cage! She wanted to be free…she wanted to be back in Konoha…she wanted to feel…not like she was weak…and being a prisoner wasn't exactly her vision of strength. Why did this have to happen? What had she done wrong to make this happen? What--

Something was happening in the darkness. Sakura remembered when something like this had happened before. She had been unconscious then too, and just like now, the darkness had shifted so that there had been an even darker patch of darkness right in front of her. Once again, swirls appeared on the screen…but this time there was something different. The swirls were made of dull colors…not just white, like before.

She watched as the different hues swam across the 'screen'. As she watched, the movement of the swirls sped up, until she saw a picture form on the 'screen'. Then the 'movie' began, and Sakura could do nothing but watch. It's not like there was much else to do in this barren place.

She was at the cliff where she had returned to…but apparently she hadn't returned yet, because there was still one burn mark on the ground. Oh yeah, and let's not forget that the two Akatsuki and the ten Sound ninja were starting to fight each other. Deidara had just thrown a bomb when Sakura saw herself appear. In daylight the flash of light that indicated her return was barely visible.

For a moment it was like the 'movie' got snagged on something, but then it continued. But something was off about what Sakura was seeing. When she had arrived, everyone was looking at her…but in this 'movie' the battle continued. Then the bomb went off, and as the dust cloud rose, Sakura saw herself run. Not for the forest, as she really had, but for the cliff. Sakura jumped off of the cliff…and cushioned her landing with a burst of Chakra.

She stumbled for a moment before she kept running. As Sakura followed herself, she noticed that the fight between the Akatsuki and the Sound ninja hadn't slowed a beet because no one noticed that Sakura had come and gone. The movie fast forwarded through her long run through the forest at the bottom of the cliff, headed in the direction of Konoha. As Sakura saw herself running, she knew that she had sprained her ankle and didn't have the Chakra to heal it.

The 'movie' returned to normal speed as Sakura neared Konoha. What Sakura saw made her feel awful. There was Konoha, but it was under attack…just like in the one dream she'd had…No!

She had to watch as she ran to Konoha. Now she knew who was attacking Konoha…it was Sound. There were dead all around from both sides. Sakura watched as she grabbed some of the weapons from the dead and ran to try and help her village. The movie fast forwarded again. She battled as best as she could, but she was tired, out of Chakra, injured, and running out of weapons.

Everything was happening so quickly. She was fighting so many different Sound ninja…each battle getting sloppier as she weakened. Then suddenly Sakura saw that she was face to face with none other than Kabuto. Time slowed. If the people in the background hadn't kept moving, and Sakura couldn't see how quickly her chest was rising and falling, she would have thought the 'movie' had gone on pause rather than normal. For a few moments, nothing happened.

That was when Sakura noticed that Kabuto was smirking. He was injured, but it was minor…and he was smirking at her…Why was he smirking at her? A few more moments passed…and he was _still _smirking at her…and it was starting to creep her out. Finally Kabuto took a step forward and she saw herself rush him with her one kunai that she had left.

But her movements were so slow, and to Sakura's horror, she watched as her leg gave out and she collapsed. She threw her last kunai at Kabuto…but it was so slow…he caught it with ease. He was still smirking…she really wanted to knock that smirk off his face…she watched as he disappeared, then reappeared behind her. He hit the back of her head, and Sakura watched as she fell unconscious.

She was forced to watch as Kabuto picked her up and draped her over one of his shoulders. He then did some hand signs and disappeared in a puff of smoke. For a moment the 'movie' flickered and she saw Konoha…or the rubble that had been Konoha. Then the 'movie' flickered again…and she returned back to the cliff and the burn mark, as if nothing had happened…yet.

She watched again as the Akatsuki and the Sound ninja battled. Once again there came the flash of light that indicated her return and once again the 'movie' snagged. This time, however, the battle stopped and everyone looked at her. This time they had noticed the small flash of light. She noticed that one of the Sound ninja did something odd, but then the bomb blew up again. This caused the dust cloud to form again and the Sound ninja to all die. Then the 'movie' snagged again.

Like before, she once again ran for the cliff, and once again jumped. She used her Chakra as a cushion again, and again she landed wrong on her leg…effectively spraining her ankle. Once again she ran…but this time the 'movie' didn't fast forward, though it did snag once more before it continued. She ran, but it wasn't long before her foot caught a tree root and she fell down, hitting her head. Sakura knew the self she was watching was unconscious.

This time it was Deidara and the masked Akatsuki who found her. Deidara was about to pick her up when suddenly Itachi appeared, closely followed by Kisame. Everyone, even Sakura, watched, puzzled, as Itachi picked her up instead. Then suddenly the whole scene went in reverse until it got back to the part where she was still running.

Her foot caught again and she fell again…but this time her head narrowly missed the root. She got back up and ran again. The 'movie' went on fast forward again until she was near Konoha…again. Sakura prepared her self to see the battle going on again…but for some reason things were different.

It was obvious that Konoha had just been attacked, but this time it looked like the battle was over…and either Konoha had won or it had been a draw. She watched as she ran into Konoha and…suddenly the 'movie' was replaced by a momentary view of the same destroyed Konoha, then by a Konoha with Tsunade still as Hokage…then to a Konoha where, to her surprise, she was Hokage.

All of that happened in a flash, then the 'screen' went blank for a moment, then the 'movie' returned…back at the beginning again. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what in the world was going on. None of this was making sense.

The 'movie' continued: the mark, the fighting, the flash of light, the stopping of the battle, the bomb going off…and then the snag happened again. This time she watched as she ran for the forest…as she really had. She watched as she was thrown into the tree. Sakura mentally winced…seeing it from outside of her body made it look worse than she thought it had been when it had happened.

She once again broke the ground, then swung the tree, and then she ran into the forest. She was attacked by Kisame again, she tried to run, again, she was surrounded…again. It was all happening as she remembered it. She faked an attack at Kisame and escaped again. She made her clone again and ran the other direction as her pursuers followed her clone…again. She ran…again…

The 'movie' snagged, then continued. She ran and ran and ran…why hadn't she looked back by now…hadn't she looked back when she was being chased? She didn't remember it taking this long for her to look back…why wasn't she looking back?

But it never happened…she never looked back…and so far…she hadn't run into Itachi. Sakura watched as she continued to run through the forest. She winced, and she saw her self wince, as a branch she had moved out of her way swung back and hit her ribs hard. She watched as she stumbled and fell to her knees, grabbing at her side and trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her.

Sakura felt her heart stop as three figures appeared in front of her other self. It took her other self a moment longer to notice, but when she did, Sakura knew that her heart had stopped as well. Standing in front of her was Sasuke, as well as two other Sound ninja. Sasuke's face was pretty bland, but she could still see some surprise in his eyes.

Sakura watched as she and Sasuke just stared at each other. Then her other self suddenly started coughing up blood. Sasuke started walking towards her, but her other self couldn't see that. By the looks of her, Sakura figured she was about to faint…and she was right.

Sasuke just reached her as she began to lose consciousness. Sakura then heard her own voice come from her other self, but it was raged and it sounded like it was coming from far in the distance. Sakura also recognized the question her other self asked, "Why…?" But she had fallen unconscious again.

Sasuke caught her before her face planted itself into the ground. To her surprise he didn't pick her up right away (as had everyone else), instead he just seemed to look at her. Then, once again to her surprise, he reached out and took her necklace off of her. It was the necklace Itachi had given her…but why was Sasuke taking it off of her? It's not like he'd remember anything from back then, so why…?

Sasuke stood up and laid Sakura down carefully before he turned and walked back to the other two ninja who were just standing there, watching. He handed one of them the necklace and told them something too quietly for Sakura to understand. The one with the necklace turned and ran into the forest without a word. Sasuke told the other one something too, once again too quietly for her to understand it. That ninja ran in a different direction then had the other one.

Sasuke then walked back to her unconscious body, which was now laying on it's back, and knelt down beside her. He wiped the blood from her face and hands, and as he did so, Sakura could have sworn she'd heard him say her name. but his voice was so distant now…whatever else he said, she couldn't decipher. He then gently picked her up in both arms and…the 'movie' blinked out, then back in…once again back at the beginning.

She was really starting to dislike this 'movie'. Why was it showing her all these things…they hadn't even happened. All of this was useless…it had shown her everything _except _what had really happened to her. Right now, all she wanted was to know what was going on…

This time the movie played out as she remembered things to have gone. At the point in the 'movie' where it snagged, Sakura finally got an idea as to what the snag might have meant; they meant that more than one thing could have happened at that point. If her guess was right, then she may just be about to say that she had spoken too soon on the 'it showed her everything _except _what had really happened' part.

She watched as she once again ran, but this time, just as it had really happened, she looked back. As she looked back, Itachi appeared before her, and she ran into him. She turned and saw that he was what she had run into, then she froze.

Sakura watched as she stared at Itachi…and then began to collapse as fatigue overtook her. She once again heard her distant voice ask the question 'why', and once again a Uchiha caught her before she did a face-plant. This time, instead of Sasuke, it was Itachi. Itachi picked her up and held her as she heard Deidara's voice say something that was too far away for her to understand.

What in the world was going on?! Why was she seeing all of this? Why was everyone after her? Why was it that there was only one time that she'd not ended up unconscious and being taken by a man to either the Akatsuki or Sound? Why _her_?

Sakura watched as the 'movie' flickered off to show a scene of Konoha. This time it wasn't in shambles, first she saw herself as Hokage again, and then for the first time, she saw Naruto as Hokage. Then the 'screen' flashed white and the picture of Naruto as Hokage disappeared. What was going on? The 'screen' turned black, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

She felt panic rising in her. She felt pressed, she felt…like a bird being forced back into a cage…she felt…like something was wrong…she felt…like she wasn't alone…but in a bad way. She felt like the inner sanctuary that was her mind had been…touched?…Covered?…Exposed?

She felt…no…she knew…something had happened to her. For a second she thought she saw eyes in the darkness…but then they weren't there…then she felt like she was slipping…she tried to hold onto her existence in this world of darkness…she didn't want to go back to being a part of the darkness…but she was slipping down…no…she was being _forced _down…she…

…became lost in the darkness once again…

* * *

There, another chapter down. Sorry it took so long to update, I've been busy, and school starts on the 21st of August for me. (ToT) Because of school I won't be updating as often, sorry. 

Ok, people listen up. I warned you that I may mess some things up due to my lack of up-to-date-ness. The blue haired woman, as far as I know, is still unnamed, so I gave her a name. I've been told that her name is many different things, so I can't be sure who is right, if anyone is. Because of that, let's just stick with her name being Yuri. If you want, you could think of it as her last name rather than her first (if that makes you feel any better).

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome…you know how I feel about flames…Now, to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Sunset Sky, meisi, chikarubunny (I haven't seen that far, so I don't know, that's why I kept it vague.), Fallen to Earth, Starlight - Wild Koneko, Mistress Persephone, LovesXRamenX2Xmuch123, butterfly breeze, xokatherine229, Tsukinoshi, Jax9, kiwi-kikia, anonomous fan, Akatsuki's-Kunoichi (nope, I don't know how many chapters there will be, but knowing me, there will probably be a lot), Kagome093, UchihaMarina, changeling child, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, summerlover1, Itachi4Eva, unknown (just tell me it's you when you change your name), The Reveiwer known as Name, Sandlewood996, Chibi Kabuto, SakuBlossomOfTheSand, Fallen Love, xnarutoxrocksx, Rangerette, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, magickbendingdemon, Kurai Ummei, sakura-angel113 (the 21st), Lenore Hepburn, Kasaru Hatake, narutoluvin (I thought Pein was the leader), Makokam (I'm not sure about the woman, I was brought to believe that her name was still unknown, so I gave her a name), DeidaraAddiction, (), SnowSkadi, fionfee, Quiet Moon, Twilight Kunoichi, Soph', Sakimi1014, SpeedDemon315, LadySakuraForest, Jess Ishtar, Tsubasa-Angel, bubbleyum, CosenAngel, Epitome-of-all-things-English (the age mess up is due to a misconception of mine back when I was writing the first story. Back then I thought that there was eight years difference rather than five. But in order for my story to work, I needed Itachi to be about to kill his clan, but at the same time, I needed Sakura to have not yet met Ino. That's the reason for the age mess up), Shadow Ninja, scarletpyro91, Alone in a Blizzard, Hao'sAnjul, Chibi Saku-Chan, Addi-Chan, Chocochip Haruka, fallin'sakura-tenshi (no, I don't), Ri-16-Chan (If you read the note on the first chapter, you'd know that Sakura is 15 right now, not 12), XISurrealIV, Flower of the Desert, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, drake999, Staring.out.my.flooded.window, fantine89, msblacsakura, OkamiAlucard, Hatake Kai, Chaerring Trinity, LaReSaKa, Crazy Neko Girl, LaberaiTashio, White Wolf Pheonix (no, actually I stunk at writing not four years ago. I just never gave up and learned from my mistakes), emma, wickedthunder02, won't be the Victim, Kakurine IL, shadow miko, Ilse Montague (I couldn't get to the picture on my computer, but once I go to school, I can try and use a computer there to get to it.), XxKayxKayxX, cherryblossomsky, YamiNoKiba, evilteddybear, tora.of.the.sand, ANI-CHAN, w1cked angel, yourmaster, & CrosswordGirl for reviewing!


	4. Waking Up and Sleeping

Disclaimer: You'd think by now that people would know that confusing others is my job…and I'm very proud of it!

****

Chapter 4: Waking Up and Sleeping

As Sakura woke up, the first thing she noticed was that each breath she took sent a pang shooting through her side. She struggled to open her eyes as she heard movement nearby. Her eyes cracked open, but everything was blurry. She closed her eyes and tried again. This time things were less blurry, and out of the corner of her eye she could see movement.

She blinked again, and this time the blurry movement was getting closer to her. She blinked once more and this time she saw that the movement was a woman…wearing the Akatsuki robe. Sakura quickly tried to sit up, and she regretted it. Pain seared through her body. Sakura bit back a yelp as the pain set her nerves on fire.

Suddenly she felt a hand pushing her back down and a female voice saying, "You shouldn't move…" Sakura opened her eyes and looked at the woman. She had blue hair with a flower in it and she was wearing the Akatsuki robe. The woman reached out and tucked whatever was covering Sakura back around her, saying, "You've been out for two days…"

Why was this woman being so…gentle? She was a member of the Akatsuki, the robe and the ring she could see on the woman's hand proved that. So why was she being nice to her? Wasn't she a prisoner? Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but the woman put a callused finger over her lips and said, "Don't talk until you've fixed your ribs. You should have enough Chakra by now to do that." Chakra? Of course…why hadn't she thought of it.

Sakura reached for her Chakra and found that it was low. She called it to her but for a moment it didn't respond. Then it sluggishly came and she directed it to her ribs. As she healed herself, she noticed that she had broken clean through three ribs and fractured another two. No wonder it had hurt.

The healing was slow…much slower than it should have been. And why was her Chakra so low? If she'd really been unconscious for two days, she should have been back to normal. So why wasn't she? And why did she feel like her Chakra didn't want to be obeying her. It wasn't that it was fighting her…it just felt like…she wasn't sure. It was kind of like her Chakra was trying to decide if it really wanted to do what she told it to.

The little Chakra she had was barely enough to fix her ribs, but at least it no longer hurt to breath. She was about to try and sit up again when she felt that hand holding her down again. The woman shook her head and said, "No…you shouldn't get up yet." Sakura tried to sit up anyways, but the hand wouldn't let her, and she didn't have the strength to remove the hand.

Why was she so weak? She felt like she'd been trampled by a herd of elephants, not thrown into a single tree. If she'd really been unconscious for two days she shouldn't have been this weak, and her Chakra stores should be full, not empty. What was going on?

The woman removed her hand and said, "I'll get you some food…don't move…you'll only hurt yourself…" She then turned away and walked out of Sakura's limited range of view. Sakura heard a door open and close, then she heard the sound of a latch turning. She _was _a prisoner…but if she was, then why not let her hurt herself? Why was this woman treating her like she wasn't their enemy…their prisoner?

Sakura's eye's fluttered and before she knew it, she was asleep. The next thing she knew, she felt a hand gently shake her shoulder. She opened her eyes and found the woman looking at her with a smile in her eyes if not on her face. Sakura could smell food, and it made her notice that her stomach felt ravenous.

She tried to sit up, but her body just felt so weak, like a wet noodle. The woman apparently could tell that she wasn't having an easy time sitting up, because she reached out and helped her. With the woman's help she was able to sit up, and now that she was sitting up, she noticed that she was on a bed in the middle of an almost empty room.

Sakura then looked down as what had been covering her slipped down some, reveling what looked to be a large shirt. If Sakura had had the strength, she probably would have flung the Akatsuki robe off of her, but as it was, she barely had the strength to remain sitting. Besides, it was keeping her warm in what she now noticed was a very chilly room.

The woman brought a small lap-table over to her and on that table there was a steaming bowl of soup. Sakura somehow mustered the strength to pick up the spoon and move it from the soup to her mouth. There was no way that she was going to be fed by an Akatsuki…not as long as she had anything to say about it.

Halfway through the meal tiredness swamped her, but she forced herself to finish eating. The woman took the tray away after she finished and Sakura somehow managed to lie down before sleep overtook her.

* * *

Yuri put the tray down on the bed and turned back to the girl. She was already asleep. Yuri shook her head slightly as she moved to tuck the robe back around the sleeping girl's shoulders. After that she picked up the tray and went to the door and opened it. She stepped out and closed the door, locking it as she did so.

On one side of the doorway stood Tobi, on the other side stood Itachi. She knew that Deidara and Kisame would be out patrolling the grounds. Tobi looked at her and asked, "Is Sakura awake now?"

Yuri glared at the boy as she said, "I told you to call her _Miss _Sakura…if not _Miss Haruno_." She sighed and interrupted as Tobi started to say something, "No, she's not awake anymore. She did wake up long enough to eat, but that was it. She fell asleep the moment she finished eating." She turned to look at Itachi as she said, "She's fine…she's just asleep."

Itachi's face didn't change at all, but she knew he cared about what she was telling him. She also knew that he was worried about her, though he didn't really show it. It had actually kind of surprised her that he had been so gentle with her when he'd brought her here. She hadn't known Itachi could _do _gentle…but apparently, with the right person, he could.

She hadn't let him be alone with the girl, though, since he brought her. She hadn't let _anyone _other than her near her for that matter. It hadn't seemed proper. She had also been afraid that one of them would accidentally bump her or something and hurt her worse than she had already been.

She turned back to look at Tobi and asked, "Have you worked on the prisoner today? You know we can't let him die until we've gotten what we need from him."

"Tobi did Tobi's job with the prisoner before Tobi came to help guard Sa-" he began, then he corrected himself, "_Miss_ Sakura. Tobi was a good boy!"

Yuri nodded, then began walking down the hall with the tray in hand. She hesitated before she said, "Itachi, you may go in and look at her for a few minutes…but don't stay too long…and be careful, she's still injured." She then turned a corner, wondering if that was the right thing to do. But she knew he wouldn't hurt her, and he wanted to see her so badly. He didn't show it, but she knew he did.

* * *

Itachi unlatched the door and walked in, closing the door quietly behind him. He walked silently until he was standing by the bed she was laying on. She was asleep, but he expected that. He watched as she breathed, her chest rising and falling under the Akatsuki robe.

He'd caught glances of her from the doorway when Yuri had come in or out, but that was all. He hadn't really seen her since he'd given her to Yuri…he hadn't touched her since then either. He reached out his hand and gently touched a lock of her hair that was resting on her face. He moved the lock from her face and then moved his hand to the top of her head.

He could tell that even in her sleep she was hiding the fact that she was in pain. To him it was obvious, but he knew that to most her face would look peaceful. But she was in pain…probably both physical and mental…and he knew that he had caused at least one of those pains. He felt bad for having hurt her, but he would do what he could to help heal that hurt.

Itachi bent down and kissed her forehead, then straightened again. He touched her hair one more time before he turned around and went to the door. He would help her get over the pain he'd caused her however he could. She wouldn't be happy having to be here, but maybe…

Itachi locked the door then said to Tobi as he began walking down the hall, "You keep watch…I need to do something…"

* * *

Sakura woke to find that she was in total darkness. She sat up and as she did so, she felt pain sear through her. She bit her lip and refused to make a sound; if it was this dark, that probably meant it was nighttime. If it was nighttime, then they would think she was asleep and wouldn't bother her. And she didn't want to be bothered right now.

Sakura removed what was keeping her warm, knowing that it would be the Akatsuki robe. She put it aside and drew her knees to her chest as the bitter cold set in. She didn't want to have anything to do with the Akatsuki…being their prisoner was bad enough.

Sakura drew her large shirt that was acting as a nightgown over her knees, trying to keep warm. She wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her head against her knees as she tried to ignore the melancholy that was gnawing at her.

She had dreamt for real for the first time in a long time. But her dream hadn't been a happy dream…though now that she was trying to remember it, it was slipping away from her. All she knew was that in the dream there had been herself, Naruto, Sasuke…and Itachi. She couldn't even remember the dream but-

Sakura jerked soundlessly as a drop of wetness hit her arm. She moved one hand shakily to her face, and sure enough…she was crying. She buried her face in her knees and wrapped her arms more tightly around herself. She was glad that it was nighttime…that meant that no one would find out she'd been crying as long as she made no noise. She didn't want to appear weak…not in front of the Akatsuki, but especially not in front of Itachi.

Itachi…how just the thought of him made her heart hurt. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she fallen for him? She had know it could only end in pain…so why had she done it? She'd known it would be Sasuke all over again, so why didn't she act accordingly? Why did she always give her heart to someone who would eventually turn against Konoha, and thus against her? Why couldn't she ever learn from her mistakes the first time around? Why…did she always have to cause her heart so much unnecessary pain?

Sakura shivered. It was so cold, but that was how she felt inside…so why shouldn't that be how she felt on the outside too? Inside she felt cold and hurt. She had already hurt on the outside, since she had only had enough Chakra to heal her ribs, and now she was cold on the outside as well. It made sense…that her outside should reflect her inside. She shivered again.

Sakura stayed like that for a while, trying to act like she wasn't cold and wasn't crying. Finally she decided to check on her Chakra, but found, to her dismay, that it was still low. Sakura ignored the tiredness that was beginning to make itself known as she wondered why her Chakra was so low. It shouldn't be low, not with her having been sleeping for who knows how long, but it was.

Sakura ignored the way her body was shaking as she concentrated on using what little Chakra she'd recovered to heal her sore back. Like before, her Chakra was slow to respond, but in the end it did what she wanted it to. Sadly, she couldn't do much with the little Chakra she had. She was barely able to get rid of the worst of the pain her back was emitting.

Now that she had used up her Chakra, she was exhausted as well as cold. Sakura lay back down, but no matter how tired she was, she couldn't get to sleep; she was too cold. Finally Sakura sat back up and reached out a hand until she felt the robe she'd put aside. She grabbed it and brought it to her, debating with herself. Should she, or should she not?

It was the symbol of the Akatsuki…but she was cold, and it was the only 'cover' she had. Sakura debated with herself, but finally she decided that warmth, even coming from something to do with the Akatsuki, was better than being exhausted but unable to sleep due to the cold. Sakura reluctantly pulled the robe on, slowly pulling her arms through the sleeves, but deciding not to close it. It wasn't long before she felt warm again, even with the robe left open.

Sakura laid back down as another wave of exhaustion hit her. She curled up into a ball, making sure that she was completely covered by the robe…even if she detested what the robe stood for…and promptly fell asleep, one hand clutching her necklace.

* * *

Well, that's that! Once again, I'll warn you that I'm now in school, so I won't be updating as often as before (school is killing me!).

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, but I'll send flames to the telemarketers. Now…it's time for the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Fallen Love (it's ok, it's supposed to be that way), Epitome-of-all-things-English, SnowSkadi (Thank you), CosenAngel, Ilse Montague, Rangerette, UchihaMarina (possibly, but like I said, I don't know. It counts on a lot of things that I, as of yet, don't know), magickbendingdemon (thanks), Dreamergirl92813, Chibi Kabuto, LadySakuraForest, cherryblossomsky, Sandlewood996 (I was wondering if anyone would remember that Sasuke had touched the mark as well…but I won't tell you anything else), DeidaraAddiction (People have been calling Sakura dense for a long time…I'd prefer to say that she's just a little confused and overwhelmed at the moment), Chibi Saku-Chan, Gothic Raven, dark Alley, Blood Blossom, Mistress Persephone, Fallen to Earth, wickedthunder02, Gothic Saku-chan, Chocochip Haruka, Sailor Silver Moon, xokatherine229, Quiet Moon, unknown, animelover123456, Could-Careless, yourmaster, bubbleyum, I-Love-Akatsuki, Starlight - Wild Koneko, ., Shade, chikarubunny (Yay! You noticed the thing with Sasuke too!), summerlover1, sakura-angel113, fallin'sakura-tenshi, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, shadow miko, Addi-Chan, Kagome093, The Reveiwer known as Name, Hatake Kai, Jax9, SakuBlossomOfTheSand, Sakimi1014, Rinn Brandt, White Wolf Pheonix, Itachi4Evr, Crazy Neko Girl, evilteddybear, XxKayxKayxX, GhostOfKenshin, b..bze, baka-chan, Hao'sAnjul, Chaerring Trinity, Kasaru Hatake, SpeedDemon315, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Jess Ishtar, Twilight Kunoichi, TenshiAkki-Chan, crescentcutter, Confuzzled239, & AnimeOtaku31821 for reviewing!


	5. Cousins

Disclaimer: Hmm…if this is a fan fiction…what would be your first clue?

**Chapter 5: Cousins**

Sakura woke up as she heard the door to her room open. Before she even opened her eyes, she checked her Chakra…it was still low, but it was better than it had been the day before, though not by much. Sakura opened her eyes and sat up, ignoring how sore her still bruised back was and the way the world spun for a moment.

The blue haired woman was closing the door, and in one hand she was carrying a tray of food. As she walked to the desk in the room and set the tray down on it she said, "So, you're awake." The woman turned from the desk and looked at her for a moment before she said, "I see the robe fits you."

Sakura looked down at her lap as she remembered that she'd put on the Akatsuki robe. She fought back a blush as she said, "I got cold…" The woman just put on a smile that reminded Sakura of Sai's fake smiles and nodded.

The blue haired woman walked away from the desk and headed towards her, that Sai like smile still on her face as she asked, "Do you think you're well enough to walk on your own?"

_That _surprised Sakura, and in answer she stood up. For a moment the world spun again, but then it settled, and Sakura took first one step, then another and another. She walked until she reached the desk and could sit down on the chair there. She was glad she had made it without showing how hard it had been; she didn't want to appear weak, especially in front of an Akatsuki.

The woman had watched her go the whole way without a word. Now that she was sitting at the desk, the woman walked back to her and said, "Very well…eat what you can." she then walked a little ways to a closet door and taped it as she said, "I've gotten you some cloths I think will fit…when you're done eating you can try them on to make sure they do." She then walked toward the door that she had entered the room through as she said, "I have to go somewhere, but I'll be back in twenty minutes…with a surprise I believe will make you feel better."

She then opened the door, and as she left, she called back over her shoulder, "Oh, and don't push yourself too much, Miss Haruno." Then the door closed and Sakura was left to stare. Why had the blue haired Akatsuki woman called her 'Miss Haruno'? Why had she been so polite to a prisoner…? It made no sense.

Sakura shook the questions out of her head; there was no point on thinking about it now. She turned to the food and she heard her stomach growl. She thought about checking to make sure it wasn't poisoned, but she knew that there was no point in doing so. Why would the Akatsuki poison her now? They had had plenty of time and plenty of chances to kill her, but they hadn't, so why would they try now? Besides, her great-grandmother had said that they wanted her alive…and she'd seen first hand during her little scuffle that led to her capture that they weren't trying to kill her.

Sakura ate the food, and when she finished, she felt better. As Sakura set her utensils down, she looked at the room for the first time. There wasn't much for furnishing in the room, just the desk, the chair, an empty bookcase, and the bed that had no covers. The walls looked to be solid rock and there were no windows. There were only three doors, one was the one she suspected led to the rest of wherever she was, the one that the woman had come in and out of. The other door was the one that hid the contents of the closet from view. She didn't know where the third door led.

Sakura stood up and had to wait for the world to hold still again before she was able to begin walking towards the door. At the door she had to rest a moment. She was still sore and her newly healed ribs were protesting her movement. After that little break, Sakura reached out and opened the unknown door cautiously. It opened to show a bathroom.

Sakura closed the door again and walked over to the closet. She had to rest again before she opened the closet. Inside the closet there were different pieces of clothing that looked like they would fit her better than the current shirt/dress she was using as a nightgown. Sakura took off the Akatsuki robe gladly, then she hurried to try on the new clothing, hoping to find something to ward off the cold.

Sakura tried everything on, most of it fit, though some of it was too big. She ended up keeping on the last outfit she tried on, but it wasn't long before she found that even with her new outfit, she was still cold. Reluctantly Sakura picked the Akatsuki robe back up and put it on once again, but like before, she refused to close it. She then turned to the bed and found her Leaf forehead protector. She picked it up and put it one the way it was meant to be worn, allowing its unmarred Leaf symbol to show proudly. She would not let anyone think she was a part of the Akatsuki, even if the temperature made her wear their robe.

As she finished tying on her forehead protector there came a knock at the door and the woman's voice called, "Are you decent?"

Sakura answered, "You may come in…" The door opened and the blue haired woman walked in, but she wasn't alone. With her were three children, all with pink hair and ice blue eyes. Sakura froze, unable to tear her eyes off of the three young Hoshi's. They were ushered in the room by the blue haired woman who said, "I'll let you talk with Miss Haruno for a while, but then you will have to go back and let her rest." That was all she said as she walked back out and closed the door.

Sakura stared at the three children and the three children stared at her. After a moment, realization dawned on Sakura: these were the three children from her vision…the one where her great-grandmother was killed by an Akatsuki member. If they were here, that meant that that too had really happened…and that her great-grandmother, who had gone back in time to warn her, was dead…and these three had seen it happen in real life.

Sakura studied them as they studied her. The eldest was a ten year old boy whose shaggy pink hair went in all directions. His blue eyes were serious, calm, and perceptive. The other two were identical twin girls, both age eight. The only physical difference she saw was the length of their hair. One of the girls had long pink hair that went to her bottom, the other's hair went only to her shoulders. In the long haired girl's eyes she saw curiosity as well as determination and awe. In the Short haired girl's eyes she saw that same awe, but the rest of her feelings were well hidden.

Sakura finally broke the silence as she said with an unsure smile, "Hello, I'm Sakura…and you are?"

The boy was the one who spoke first, "We are your cousins, Lady Sakura." Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but then the boy bowed to her and she couldn't find her voice. The boy continued politely, "My name is Noya." Sakura's jaw would have dropped if she hadn't had as much control over herself as she had. The boy didn't notice as he continued politely "My mother was your mother's younger sister."

He then stepped back and let the twins speak. "Our father was your mother's younger brother." they spoke in union, then bowed as Noya had. The short haired girl said calmly and quietly, "My name in Hanako, and," The short haired girl let the long haired girl finish (Sakura noticed that their voices would have been exactly the same if not for the way the long haired girl's voice rose as if she were excited), "my name is Inuka!"

Sakura stared for a moment…these three had the same names as her friends she'd met back in the past. What an odd coincidence. Sakura smiled then asked the question she'd wanted to ask since Noya had first spoken, "It's nice to meet you…but why did you call me 'Lady' Sakura? We're cousins, aren't we?"

The three children looked at each other, as if deciding who would speak. Finally Noya stepped forward again and said just as politely as before, "There are a number of reasons why, Lady Sakura. One reason is because you are a Time Walker…" He paused and all three looked at her questioningly.

It was the long haired girl, Inuka, who asked worriedly, "Do you need to sit down? You don't look so good, Lady Sakura."

Sakura gave a weak smile, these children had been able to tell that she was having a hard time taking all this in standing up. "Maybe I should sit down." Sakura said, telling herself she was doing it to make the children stop worrying about her, and not because she was starting to feel light headed again.

Sakura walked over and sat on the only chair in the room. Once she was sitting, she felt better, and the room stopped spinning. The children were crowded around her, all looking at her like she was the center of their world. The way they were looking at her made her uncomfortable, so she asked, trying to get them to stop looking at her like that, "So, what's being a Time Walker got to do with you calling me that?"

It was Noya who spoke for them again, "Time Walkers are…the head of our clan, along with the elders of the clan."

Sakura rubbed her temples as she tried to wrap her brain around everything, "So…I think I understand, since my--I guess I should say 'our'--great-grandmother told me about what she called the Hoshi pyramid. So…you're calling me 'Lady' because I'm a Time Walker…I take it that means the three of you aren't."

Noya nodded and said, "Yes, we are not Time Walkers. I am a Spirit Walker." he then gave a small bow and stepped back, allowing the twins to step forward.

The twins stood side by side, almost touching as they both bowed. The long haired twin, Inuka, spoke first, "We are normally," The other twin, Hanako, continued the sentence as Inuka trailed off, quieter than had her sister, "Element Walkers, but," She paused, then both spoke at the same time, as they reached out and held hands, "together we are Dream Walkers"

They dropped eachothers hands and stepped back as Noya stood forward again. He didn't say anything, so Sakura decided he was waiting for her to speak first, "I see…Um…would you guys mind telling me what all these types of 'Walkers' do?" Sakura kept her embarrassment hidden as she said, "I don't know much about…_anything _to do with my clan…sorry."

Inuka suddenly said, interrupting whatever Noya had been about to say, "It's not your fault, Lady Sakura! You don't have to--" She was cut off by her sister covering her mouth and forcing her to bow.

Noya spoke quickly, as if he expected Sakura to be angry, "Please, forgive Inuka's outburst, Lady Sakura…"

Sakura reached out and patted him on the shoulder as she said, "It's fine, really, it is. She didn't do anything bad. All she did was speak her mind." Sakura stopped there as an idea hit her, "Don't tell me that you're not allowed to speak your minds around Time Walkers."

Noya shook his head and said politely, "We are allowed to speak our mind, Lady Sakura, but we are not allowed to be rude to our betters."

"Betters?" Sakura asked, then she said slightly perturbed by what he'd said, "I'm not better than you! I guess I can see how that would be important with an elder, but you guys aren't all that much younger than me. Also, you don't need to call me '_Lady _Sakura', even if I am a Time Walker, I don't know near as much as you do about our clan, so that should make us even in clan status." Sakura actually wasn't sure if that was true, but it sounded like it could be true…and she didn't like being called _Lady _Sakura like she was someone important. She was just Sakura, plain old Sakura.

Noya shifted uncomfortably, looking like he wanted to say something, but was unable to find the words. And for the first time he looked like the ten year old he was. Hanako reached out and touched Noya's arm softly and told him just as softly, "I'll take it from here…" She turned to Sakura, and Sakura could have sworn that there was an aura of sadness around her. Sakura glanced at the other two children, and found that they both had that same 'aura' of sadness.

"Lady Sakura…" began Hanako in her quiet voice, "custom demands that we call you 'Lady'…because," She paused, and Sakura could tell she was having a hard time saying what she felt needed to be said, "well…there's another reason other than you being a Time Walker." She paused again, and this time there was a quiver in her voice as she said, "You see…"

She stopped and Inuka reached out and held her hand, encouraging her to continue, even though Inuka looked just as sad as Hanako. A quick glance showed Sakura that Noya looked unhappy as well. He put an arm around Hanako and took over, trying not to let his emotions get into his voice, "According to Hoshi law, the eldest Hoshi is always to be called Lady or Lord, no matter their connection with anyone…" He gulped, then said, "That person used to be our great-grandmother, but the man who brought us here killed her. After her, it was the twins' father…but just a week ago…his spirit spoke to me…"

Noya bit his lip, then continued in a strained voice, "I am a Spirit Walker, I speak with the spirits of the dead…" His voice cracked, and his face turned red, but he still looked so sad.

Sakura had a bad idea she knew where this was going, "Does that mean…don't tell me…I'm…"

It was Inuka who answered, though tears were now pouring out of her eyes, "Yes…you are the head elder…because we are the last of the Hoshi clan. Everyone else was killed by that man…"

Sakura heard the door open, but the children didn't, and she didn't look away from Inuka as Inuka continued, "…Itachi Uchiha…"

* * *

I hope you liked it. Sorry for the long wait for chapters, but I don't have much time during the weekday's to do anything fun thanks to school. If you're wondering why her cousins have the same names as the others from ACC, the answer is because I felt it would be easier for you if you didn't have to memorize new OC's (I know how hard it can be to remember multiple OC's). 

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, but not flames. Now, let's get on with the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: yourmaster, Addi-Chan, Chaerring Trinity, Gothic Raven, Gothic Saku-chan

, Sakimi1014, Fallen to Earth, Corrupt Blossom, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, SpeedDemon315, Crazy Neko Girl, Chibi Kabuto (I'd like to see it if I could), Kagome093 (no, she pulled it over her legs, but the shirt was still on), White Wolf Pheonix, Starlight - Wild Koneko, Quiet Moon, puppydog20038, tora.of.the.sand, shadow miko, anonomous fan, The Reveiwer known as Name, Kakurine IL, xnarutoxrocksx, Mistress Persephone, Rinn Brandt (Yuri and Pein know), chikarubunny, Purity of a White Rose, evilteddybear, Jax9, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Hao'sAnjul, Blood Blossom, Rangerette, Akkirako Chikuro, Itachi4Eva, wickedthunder02, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Confuzzled239, Lady Azaria, SnowSkadi (very poetic…thanks), Ilse Montague (I don't know why it won't work…the address wasn't wrong), Hatake Kai, panicatthediscotime, animelover123456, LadySakuraForest, DragonMaster Reborn, Sandlewood996 (there _is _a clue in one of her dreams. As to school…the first day it took me +4 hours to do all my homework), DeidaraAddiction, DemonicAngel08, xokatherine229, tonnora, sakura-angel113, krazykoreangurl, Cute-killer-Gurl, Shadow Quil, Shadow Ninja, XxTwilgihtstarxX, Alone in a Blizzard, memyselfisesshy93, Chibi Saku-Chan, Tenshi Akki-chan, UchihaMarina, cherryblossomsky, XxKayxKayxX, reader ninja, meisi, CosenAngel, magickbendingdemon, scarletpyro91, silverstorm16, Chocochip Haruka, Jess Ishtar, bubbleyum, Kasaru Hatake & gaara-we-love-you-so-much for reviewing!


	6. Itachi’s Revelation

Disclaimer: fanfiction, fanfiction, fanfiction...get it _now_?

**Chapter 6: Itachi's Revelation**

Sakura felt her heart stop…Itachi…had killed her clan. She heard footsteps, so she looked up and saw the blue haired woman. The woman grabbed the twins' hands without a word and pulled them with her as she walked towards the open door, her face emotionless. Noya followed as Sakura just stared, feeling like her heart was on ice needles.

As the woman took the children out of her room, Sakura saw Itachi standing by the open door. She felt pain, sadness and anger fill her already damaged heart as what Inuka had said sank in. Itachi had killed her family…Itachi had killed them in cold blood.

"Why?" Sakura stood up quickly and had to grab the chair so that she wouldn't fall down as the world around her began to spin again. "Why?" Sakura asked again as she steadied herself. Sakura watched as the woman said something to Itachi too quietly for her to hear. Itachi didn't seem to acknowledge what the woman said, instead he walked calmly into the room and the door closed behind him.

Sakura watched him as her heart became a swirling tornado of contradicting emotions. She loved Itachi, but he would never remember he loved her…she hated him for being in the Akatsuki, for killing his clan, for killing _her _clan, and possibly most of all…she hated him because she loved him.

Sakura didn't know what emotion to feel, there were too many different ones flying through her, cutting at her heart. "Why?" She asked again. His face didn't change, he just looked at her with that emotionless gaze, not saying anything. She felt more stabs of pain as she thought about how he'd not remember her…and then as she thought about what he'd done to her clan. Even if she hadn't known them, they had still been her family. This thought brought her many emotions, but finally there was one that stuck out, one that she could act upon: anger.

She didn't care if it was suicidal, especially considering she was in no state to fight and he was an S-class criminal; she flung herself at him. Her punch was slow, and she knew it would also be weak, but she didn't care. She just wanted all this to end…the pain, the hurt, the anger, the love, the hate, the confusion…she just wanted it all to end. She didn't even care if the end came with her death, she just wanted it to end.

But luck had never favored her.

* * *

He had foreseen her movements long before she even made a move. He had seen it all in her eyes, and he knew she was lost in her own conflicting emotions. He had guessed that the way she would try to deal with it would be to do just what she was doing: attacking him. He let her attack, blocking her feeble blows with ease. He could see that she wasn't steady on her feet as she wobbled, but she kept attacking, so he kept blocking, waiting for her to tire herself out.

As she tried in vain to hit him, he kept hearing her ask that same question, 'why'. He would wait until she calmed down some to answer. He knew that in her current state of mind, she wouldn't hear him, or more to the point, listen to him. So he'd just have to wait for her to tire herself out, as would surely happen soon.

She kept attacking him, and he kept waiting for her to tire. As she threw a punch that nearly threw her completely off balance he noticed that she _was_ tiring…she just wasn't calming down. He also noticed that if she kept this up she would get herself hurt, and he didn't want that to happen. So as she threw her next punch, he simply caught her wrist with one hand.

She tried to pull out of his grip, but he knew that if he let her go, she'd most likely get herself hurt. So he held her wrist firmly, just enough to stop her from escaping, but not enough to bruise. He knew she was exhausted, and he knew that her irrational behavior just now was because she had been acting on pure emotion rather than rational thought, which was what she normally acted on.

He had seen it before, with his foolish little bother…the only difference between his brothers reaction and hers was that his brother was set on killing him and getting revenge, where as she was just trying to escape the pain and confusion he knew he'd caused her. That was what made his brother foolish and her not…his foolish little brother was after revenge, something that would never make him content, Sakura, on the other hand, was after understanding and comfort, not revenge.

Sakura finally stopped trying to escape his grip and was now just looking at him with pain and confusion evident in her eyes. Her face was flushed and she looked like she was about to cry, or yell, or both. He just waited, still holding her wrist; he'd let her get all her emotions out before he said anything.

For a long while she said nothing, she just stood there, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking from exhaustion and pain. When she finally said something, her voice didn't betray her emotions, though he already knew them. "Why?" It was that same question she'd been asking this whole time. It was an all around question, specifying nothing and including everything.

He knew, however, that there was only one way he could answer her question. She wanted to know so many different things, including things she'd think he'd remember nothing about. That was the reason that there was only one answer he could give to her that would even begin to answer her questions. And he knew how to get her to see the answer, without him directly giving it to her.

His answer, after all, was still hanging around her neck. He reached up with his free hand and touched the necklace he'd given her all those years ago as he said, "I see you're wearing my present…"

The moment his hand had touched her necklace, her free hand had begun to move into position to make him let go of the necklace and she had begun saying angrily, "Of course I-". But once he said that, her hand, as well as the rest of her, froze.

She was staring at him, her eyes big, her breathing shallow. For a long time, that's all that happened. Then, though she hid it well, he felt her wrist tremble in his grasp. Finally she voiced a small question, her voice shaking despite how he knew she was trying not to show her true emotions, "W-wh-what?" Her voice was filled with sadness and disbelief. In her eyes he could see that disbelief spreading.

He knew that if he didn't do something, she'd try to prove to herself that she'd misheard him, even though she hadn't. He had planned to start off slowly and verbally so as not to frighten her, but he hadn't counted on a few things. One thing was that she would deny verbal proof of his knowing. He'd known she'd have a hard time swallowing it, but he'd been sure she'd eventually take it for what it was. Instead she appeared to be about to deny what she'd just heard.

The other thing he'd overlooked was his own feelings. He'd counted on it being hard on her, but he'd never guessed it would be so hard for him to just watch her deal with it. But maybe that was the problem, she _wasn't _dealing with it, and it was effecting him. Maybe it was time to throw his original plans out the window and go for plan B instead.

He had never created a plan B, but apparently he hadn't had to, because he already knew what he had to do. Maybe he'd always known it would come back to this. He knew it would most likely not bring forth as good of results as it had the first time, but he also knew that it would still send her on the correct path, it's just that this time it would take her longer to follow it to its final destination.

Her wrist was still in his hand; he pulled it back just enough to make her stumble forwards as his other hand moved from her necklace to her chin, lifting it, and with it, her face, up as he brought his face down. His lips captured hers and for a moment she froze, but then she relaxed and allowed him to kiss her. His hand slipped from her chin to the back of her neck as he pulled her closer to him.

In that moment, he felt better than he had in a very long time, but then the moment ended as he felt Sakura stiffen. She pushed away, and he let her, though he still held her wrist in his hand. She was shaking, her face bright red and the rest of her stalk white. She took a step back, then another, looking like she was scared and confused. She tried to pull her hand from his grip, and he let her.

She pulled her hand to her and held it in her other hand, close to her chest. He knew this was the part where he had to give her time to herself. He turned around and at the door, he said without turning back, "That was my answer then, and it is my answer now." He then opened the door and left.

* * *

Once Itachi was gone, Sakura allowed herself to sink to her knees. She held back the sobs that wanted to escape her. This was all too much! What was happening? What was going on? How was any of this possible? Did that really just happen? Had Itachi really just kissed her?

Sakura's hand's went to her head, it was just too much. Against Sakura's will, tears began to blur her vision and fall from her eyes. Sakura swiped at her eyes, but the tears just kept coming. Sakura forced herself to stand up and through the tears, she made her way to her bed. There she laid down and sobbed as quietly as she could into the bed.

Her heart hurt so much. She had been thrown from what she thought was true and now she was lost and bewildered. What was real? What was true? She didn't know anymore. Her great-grandmother had said that no one would remember her, and it had made sense, after all, Kakashi had never even mentioned someone like her and Naruto and Sasuke didn't know about her until they met at the academy. But nothing made sense anymore. Itachi had just proved that he remembered…It didn't make any sense. Nothing was adding up as it should.

Itachi had just kissed her…but Itachi had killed her clan. Itachi had been kind to her…but he had killed many others in cold blood. She loved Itachi, but she hated him as well. Was that even possible? Could one find themselves longing for someone who they detested?

Obviously so, because she was. It tore at her…she loved him, but she knew she shouldn't. She hated him, but at the same time she longed for him. This was just so wrong. She was in love with her enemy. Despite all the bad things she knew he'd done, despite all the pain he'd caused her and others she cared about, she still, for some unknown reason, loved him.

What was she supposed to do? What was right? What was wrong? She wished that someone could just tell her…but she knew that right and wrong weren't always clear-cut paths. She knew that in cases like this, there was no clear answer. But she wished there was. She wished that this pain in her heart would go away.

She wished that things were as simple as they'd been when she was a child. But that was the past, and as she'd learned, even a Time Walker couldn't change the past. Sakura's tears continued to fall as she bit back her sobs. She was being weak, but ever since Itachi…

Another sob broke through her defenses as she thought about Itachi. She hated being weak, but she couldn't stop her tears, and she was losing her battle with her sobs. What was she supposed to do? She was so confused and in so much pain. And she knew it was all her fault…

…after all, she was the one who had messed with time…

* * *

I hope I'm getting better at cliff hangers! I think I must be, because people are complaining so much about them (that means they're working)!

I won't be updating this weekend because it's my birthday, so I'll be busy.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, but flames are a no-no. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Purity of a White Rose, tonnora, Rangerette, LadySakuraForest, Sakimi1014, UchihaMarina, Ri-16-Chan, Synogiok, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx (I'm glad you 'found yourself'), chikarubunny, animelover123456, DemonicAngel08, wickedthunder02, White Wolf Pheonix, CosenAngel, Tsubasa-Angel (I ask that you don't use His name in vein, please), Lenore Hepburn (well, they didn't get much conversation in, but I hope you liked it anyways), xnarutoxrocksx, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, sakura-angel113 (pretty much), Kagome093, krazykoreangurl, Quiet Moon, magickbendingdemon (I know, but I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to wait and see), Starlight - Wild Koneko, Cute-killer-Gurl, Makokam (you confused me, but I think I get what you're asking so: The old woman came from a time between Sakura's leaving and her returning to her time, but before the Hoshi clan was killed. She, being experienced, knew how to dictate where in time she went, so she took herself to the time she guessed Sakura would be about to leave. Does that clear some things up?), Chocochip Haruka, bubbleyum, dwango, silverstorm16, won't be the Victim, SpeedDemon315, SnowSkadi (Yeah, I'm doing my best to not add in Japanese honorifics, but it's hard. Since I didn't start with them, I can't just add them in…I just have to do my best to get my point across without them.), Addi-Chan, Chibi-Kat x3, meisi, fallin'sakura-tenshi, Chaerring Trinity, xD, XxKayxKayxX, Itachi4Eva, I-Love-Akatsuki, moonhuntress09, Jax9, Defiant-Crayon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Chibi Kabuto, Hao'sAnjul, Kasaru Hatake, Cnguyen456, yourmaster, ., Confuzzled239, Chibi Saku-Chan, Gothic Saku-chan, shadow miko, Hatake Kai, SHILENTERRARA,The Reveiwer known as Name, QueenMeStar, scarletpyro91, Sandlewood996, RyuMiko (It was just a coincidence), dark Alley, Gaara's-Guardian-Angel (I'm glad you liked it so much), Akina-chan, Shadow Ninja, TeenageCrisis (I know, I did say i messed with his age), Mistress Persephone, LilBitzer, & reverse byakugan (Thank you for your input) for reviewing!


	7. Yuri Konan’s Talk

Disclaimer: Yada-yada-yada, I don't hear you!

To those who mentioned that the blue haired woman's name is Konan: Konan will be Yuri's last name, so that way I won't have to change things much.

**Chapter 7: Yuri Konan's Talk**

Sakura had just succeeded in stopping the flow of tears when a knock was heard at her door and the woman's voice said, "I'm coming in, Miss Haruno." Sakura sat up and quickly wiped the tears off her face, hoping the woman wouldn't' notice she'd been crying. The door opened just enough to let the woman in, then it closed and the woman stood there, looking at her.

Then the blue haired woman started walking towards her, saying, "I'm sorry if they disturbed you, Miss Haruno. I had hoped they'd make you feel better, but I see that wasn't the case." Sakura just stared, her brain fumbling to comprehend what the woman was saying. The woman continued as she neared Sakura, "It was Itachi's idea…" Sakura stiffened at the mention of Itachi, looking down so that she could better hide her emotions.

"...but it wasn't the children, was it?" asked the blue haired woman. When Sakura didn't respond she prodded, "It was because of Itachi, wasn't it?" Sakura didn't answer again; instead she clenched her fists so that the woman wouldn't see that her hands were shaking. The next thing she knew the blue haired woman had put her hand gently on one of her shoulders as she asked in an almost dangerous tone, "What did Itachi do to make you cry?"

Sakura stiffened again, this time at the woman's voice and what she said. Why did this woman care? She was an Akatsuki, so why was she being nice to Sakura? And why had her voice changed from friendly to dangerous when she'd mentioned Itachi? Sakura shook her head no rather than answer. She kept her head bent so her hair would hide the pain and confusion she felt when she thought about Itachi.

Some of her emotions must of shown because the woman sat beside her with a sigh, "So, you don't want to speak about it." The woman paused, then continued, "But I think I have an idea…those children told you it was Itachi who killed their clan, didn't they." It wasn't a question.

Sakura nodded rather than speak. She could feel tears pricking her eyes again, and she hated it. Why was she so weak? A truly strong person would do the right thing without a second thought. A truly strong person wouldn't let their emotions cloud their judgment. A truly strong person wouldn't have let themselves get into the situation she was in. But she wasn't strong…no, she was weak…so weak that she couldn't figure out what was right and what was wrong because her emotions were blinding her from seeing the truth.

The woman stayed quiet for a while, just watching her. Finally she spoke in a quiet voice, "You're torn, aren't you?" Sakura looked up at the woman as she continued, "I know what that's like." The woman looked at her, and though her face was blank, Sakura could see in her eyes something that reminded her much of how she herself felt.

The woman continued, "Our situations are different, but the resulting emotions are the same." She paused, then said, "Itachi told my partner and me what he remembered, so I know that you love him…and that he loves you. But I also know that that happened over ten years ago, back when he was still a part of the Leaf village." She poked Sakura's Leaf symbol as she said, "It's not hard to see that _you _are still very attached to the Leaf village, unlike him."

"Knowing that, it's not hard to tell what's hurting you. You're in pain because you allowed yourself to love him back when he still was a part of Leaf, but now that he's not, you don't _want _to love him, but you do. That's what's hurting you, isn't it." Once again it was not a question. The woman went quiet for a few minuets before she spoke again.

The woman's voice was almost sad as she said, "You're torn between your duty to your village and your love of Itachi, but you're not alone." Sakura stared at the blue haired woman. What was she trying to say? What was her point? The woman continued, "I'm torn between duty and love as well…but my story is different. Your lucky that at least your love is mutual…my love is all one sided."

The woman paused and Sakura carefully examined her face, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. The woman's face was blank, but Sakura saw once again that look in her eyes that reminded her of how she felt. Could this Akatsuki member really understand her? It was hard to think of someone in the Akatsuki loving anyone…this woman and Itachi…It was just so hard to believe that they could love anyone…

The woman's voice was still quiet as she said, "I can't tell you much for multiple reasons…but I can tell you that I love someone who will never love me back because his heart already belonged to someone else long before I met him. He told me to move on…but as you know, one can't tell one's heart whom to love. It just doesn't work that way." The woman slightly shook her head, as if to dislodge the memory.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sakura was surprised she'd asked aloud, but now that she'd begun voicing her thoughts, she couldn't stop, "Why are you trying to comfort me? I'm your prisoner, aren't I? Why are you being so kind…so polite…to a prisoner? Why do you call me 'Miss Haruno'? Surely none of this is normal conduct for treating prisoners, so why?" Sakura hated how her voice sounded almost desperate, but she had too many questions and not enough answers.

The woman seemed to wait to make sure she was done before saying in her quiet voice, "You are not a prisoner, per se. If you were, do you think your accommodations would be so…nice?"

Sakura felt something close to anger as she said, "Then what am I? I've been brought here against my will and locked in a room. I've noticed that you've got Akatsuki members standing outside my doorway even when I'm locked in. But then there's the fact that you pointed out about my room. There's also the fact that you've gotten me clothing and you bring me much better meals with much more food then it takes to keep someone alive. These thing are all contradicting themselves…so what's the truth? What am I, if not a prisoner, and why?"

The woman just looked at her for a while before she spoke. "You are not a prisoner. You are currently locked in your room only because I do not believe you have recovered enough to leave your room. Once I feel you are healthy enough you will be allowed to leave your room, you just won't be allowed to be alone or to leave the premises."

"I'd be lying if I told we weren't being extra careful not to let you run away, but there is another reason behind what we do. All these rules that I'm sure you already hate, are to keep you safe as well as to keep you here. You see, we know that Sound for sure is trying to get you, though we don't know why as of yet. It's possible that others could be after you as well."

"It is for those reasons that whenever you leave this room one of us has to be with you. It is best on both of our sides." Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but the blue haired woman beet her to it, "No, I can not tell you why you are here. There are only two people who can tell you, and I am not one of them." She stood up and put on a fake smile as she changed the subject, "So, was there any clothing that didn't fit?"

* * *

Sakura sighed as the door closed behind Yuri. They had talked for a while, and it was during their conversation that Sakura had finally thought to ask her name, and had been told to call her Yuri. Sakura had ended up asking Yuri if she could see her cousins later, and Yuri said that they could visit her after dinner, if she was feeling up to it. The weird thing that Sakura noticed was that when Yuri talked about her cousins, she didn't really seam to care about them, but when Sakura talked about them, she listened as if she did care.

Yuri was an odd one, to say the least. Sakura had noticed as they talked that for some reason Yuri seemed to be protective of her. She couldn't figure out why, but Yuri acted differently around her then she did around others.

Yuri had just left because the boy with the mask (she called him Tobi) had come in and said he needed her for something. With her, Yuri was kind and almost motherly, but the moment the boy came in she did a complete 180. She suddenly was completely stoic and when he spoke to her, she answered in a tone that said he was below her. The boy mentioned something about Leader needing her, and she immediately straitened and said that they should hurry then.

She had then pushed Tobi out of the room and said good bye before she closed the door behind them. Now Sakura was once again alone in her room. Sakura looked around; Yuri had gotten her simple yellow covers for her bed, so now the room had at least some color to it, but it was still pretty much empty and bland. Sakura went to the only chair in the room and sat down, wondering what to do now. She finally decided to check her Chakra again to see if she had enough to heal the rest of her wounds.

She fell into herself, and found, to her relief, that her Chakra was recovering; though it still wasn't completely full, she should have enough to heal all her wounds. Now, to heal herself. Sakura called to her Chakra, telling it to get to work on her wounds, but like before, it was slow to do what it was told. But it obeyed, and that was what was important. The act of healing wasn't hard, even now, but it was going much slower than it should have been. Once again Sakura felt as if her Chakra was hesitating to do what she told it to do.

When finally Sakura finished healing herself she felt wiped out. Why was she so tired? It wasn't like healing was hard work, not for her. Sakura stood up and the world spun so she had to grab the chair until it settled again. What was wrong with her? Was she sick or something? If she was, wouldn't she have noticed when she was healing herself? If she wasn't sick, then what was wrong?

Sakura walked over to the bed as she wondered what was wrong with her. Finally she decided that she just needed to sleep…that would make her feel better. The thing with Itachi had worn her out physically and now she knew she was worn out mentally. The only answer she could think of called for her to sleep, so that was what she would do. If Sakura noticed that she was trying to put off thinking about what had happened with Itachi, she ignored it.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Pein?" asked Yuri after Tobi left the room.

The auburn haired man turned to face her as he said in a low voice, "Yes, Yuri. Zetsu has informed me that we now have two new prisoners from Sound that were ordered to kidnap the girl. They are, however, withholding the information we want to know."

Yuri nodded and asked emotionlessly, "My orders?"

Pein took a few steps closer to her as he said "Get them to tell us why Sound wants her. If you can, get them to tell us about some of the other things Sound has been up to. But the main thing we need to know is why Sound is after her. Once we have that bit of information, if they don't prove useful for anything else, you can leave them for Zetsu to finish off."

Yuri just nodded in response. She was about to turn and leave when she thought of something and decided to ask, "Pein?" He nodded and she continued, "When do you plan to tell Miss Haruno why she's been brought here? She's already asked me, and I could tell she wasn't happy when I told her that I couldn't tell her."

Pein took a few more steps closer as he said with a sigh, "I have my own orders…he doesn't want her to be told anything until…later." He was now standing little more than an arms length away from her as he asked, "Yuri…why are you so attached to this girl?" Yuri didn't say anything; she knew that he already knew her answer.

He took a step closer as he said, "Yuri, you know it would be best for you to get over that like he told you to." Yuri kept her face emotionless and didn't answer, even though she knew it wouldn't make him happy.

As she expected, his brows knitted together as he said, "Yuri, you need to get over what can never be, what you can never have. You need to look beyond what's holding you back or you'll never be able to move forward to where you need to be. If you don't let go, you'll never get to where you know you truly belong."

Yuri remained quiet, this was nothing new, she'd heard it many times before from him. She knew he was right, but she also knew it wouldn't happen, she wouldn't do it…she _couldn't _do it. Her silence, as always, was the last straw in the conversation that pushed Pein over the edge. His hand shot out and she knew what to expect, though she didn't like it. This was how this conversation always ended.

She kept her face emotionless as his hand neared her face quickly.

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated, but I've had to study for some big tests! So blame school, not me!

Now, as I've said, I'm not up to date on Naruto...I only have seen as far as what toonami shows and I only know things I've been told, so if I mess things up sorry. With this said, I've heard that Tobi has some healing ability, at least for healing himself. I am going to mention that in the next chapter, so if you disagree (or agree and have more information) speak now or forever hold your peace. Also, I repeat the fact that Tobi is not (in my story) a Uchiha, nor is he the person Pein reports to (though Pein does report to someone 'higher up').

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome...flames will have to go into the fish tank with Kisame. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: LadySakuraForest, Challa, RyuMiko, Dreamergirl92813, Makokam, FreezeQueen, UchihaMarina, LenoreHepburn, Tempy, Chibi Saku-Chan, sakura-angel113, Sandlewood996, Quiet Moon, Akina-chan (Tee-hee...u), Youkai Goddess, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Gaara's-Guardian-Angel, fallin'sakura-tenshi, dark Alley, DeidaraAddiction, LilBitzer, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, DemonicAngel08, CosenAngel, xnarutoxrocksx, Gothic Raven, Starlight - Wild Koneko, krazykoreangurl, Shadow Ninja, Chaerring Trinity, SnowSkadi, Sakimi1014, tonnora, cherryblossomsky, Rangerette, yourmaster (His answer was the same one he gave her in ACC...the necklace was a sign of his love. reread the chapter called Revelations if you need a review), Twilight Kunoichi, shadow miko, Kagome093, Purity of a White Rose, Addi-Chan, Gothic Saku-chan, bubbleyum, changelingchild, Hao'sAnjul, Chocochip Haruka, White Wolf Pheonix, . (I don't know anything about Twilight, so I don't think I'll be reading it, sorry), falling star90 (What do you mean, what happened...you did read my first story like I said to do in the first chapter, right?), Cute-killer-Gurl, magickbendingdemon, Cnguyen456, angelica, chikarubunny, xokatherine229, evilteddybear (thank you for the long review), Itachi4Eva, Lucy-san, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Confuzzled239 (happy birthday then too), LaReSaKa, shadowfox908, meisi, Tenshi Akki-chan, Shilen Terrara (I'm afraid that school makes drawing near imposible, but if I can, I will), ReemyCreamy (it was supposed to be), Jester08, GreenEyedGrimKitty, The Reveiwer known as Name, Chibi Kabuto, animelover123456, Sakura-cherryblossom16, jHeyTTernallie, SpeedDemon315, checkers467, Black Amber, layla, Flower of the Desert, blackdragonwingz (I like to think that it's quality, not quantity, that counts when I write a chapter), sakuragirl13579, lilkitCC (_all_ Hoshi's have pink hair, even the boys), aerodestiny, Akatsuki's-Kunoichi, sincerely -your stalker, PhAnToM SpEaKeR, clea everlasting, I-Love-Akatsuki, & purple-witch93 (go to my profile and you'll see) for reviewing!


	8. Nature

Disclaimer: We're on a strict 'don't ask, don't tell' agenda

**Chapter 8: **Nature's Light

When Sakura woke up, she felt horrible. She didn't even try to open her eyes; she just laid there, willing the world to hold still. The spinning sensation lessoned after awhile, but it didn't go way. Finally Sakura reached for her Chakra, and found it lower than it had been before she went to sleep. What was going on?

Sakura forced her slow moving Chakra to search her body for any signs of sickness, but she found nothing. She tried to use her Chakra to steady her world, to stop it from spinning so. But it didn't work. What was wrong with her?

Sakura opened her eyes, but then she quickly closed them again. It was worse when even the room looked to be twirling in circles. Sakura decided it was better to just feel like the world was spinning rather than to see it as well. But what was going on? She felt like she had an extreme case of motion sickness coupled with having just run fifty miles in a tight circle.

Sakura tried to sit up, but she could barely find the strength to lift her head, let alone the rest of her. She let her head fall to the bed as another wave of dizziness struck her. For the first time she noticed that she felt out of breath. What was wrong with her? How could she be sick, yet not be sick? What could she do about all this?

Sakura thought a moment, then decided that maybe if she used her Chakra to increase her strength she'd be able to move more than just her head. Sakura called on her Chakra yet again, expecting it to be slow, like it had been lately. But nothing happened. Sakura tried again…still nothing. Why wasn't her Chakra responding?

She tried yet again, this time paying close attention to what her Chakra did when she told it to make her stronger. Her Chakra was getting her message, she was sure of that now, but for some reason it wasn't doing what she told it to. Why wasn't it doing what she told it to? It had just obeyed her when she'd checked to see if she was sick, so why wasn't it obeying her now? What was different?

Then it hit her: now she wasn't trying to heal herself, that was what was different. Sakura shot up as a sudden rush of adrenalin hit her along with that frightening thought. She ignored the spinning world around her as she made the hand sings that would allow her to make a simple clone. She focused her Chakra and…nothing…absolutely nothing happened.

Sakura tried again and again and again, but the end results never changed. She heard the door open and quickly jumped to her feet, planning to ask whoever was coming in what was keeping her from doing jutsu. But moving so suddenly was a bad idea when the world had already been moving when she had been sitting still.

When she stood up, the world suddenly convulsed and Sakura lost all track of what was up, what was down and what was all around. She squeezed her eyes shut, but her loss of direction didn't go away, neither did the queasiness that had been effecting her. She felt arms catch her and she guessed she must have fallen. She heard Yuri's voice say something urgently, but she couldn't understand her over the ringing in her ears.

She heard a commotion; there were other people in the room other than Yuri. Sakura couldn't concentrate, she felt awful. The room seemed so loud, filled with what sounded to her like thousands of voices, and it made her feel even worse then she already felt. Suddenly one clear-cut voice cut through the other sounds, including the ringing in her ears. The voice belonged to either Inuka or Hanako.

Suddenly everything other than the ringing in her ears went silent.

* * *

Yuri flew past the door and caught Sakura before she hit the ground. "Miss Haruno…Miss Haruno!" She didn't respond. Yuri quickly turned to look at the open door…or more to the point, at those standing outside of it, looking in. Itachi pushed past the three children and Tobi and walked in. He reached for Sakura, but Yuri quickly shook her head no, "Don't, not until we know what's wrong." 

Yuri turned to look back at the doorway and ordered, "Tobi, get in here!" Tobi hurried to do as she ordered. The three children followed behind him, but she didn't care about them at the moment. The boy tried to say something, but she didn't care just right then, instead she ordered Tobi again, "You're the closest thing to a medic we've got. What's wrong with her?!"

Tobi hurried forwards, but then the twins both grabbed his hands and tried to say something at the same time as Tobi tried to say something. Yuri said angrily, ignoring what they all were saying, "Tobi, hurry up. We kept her in here so she'd be safe, so we need to find out what's wrong NOW."

Both twins dropped Tobi's hands when Yuri said that, their hands going to cover their mouths. The boy was doing the same thing, and all three looked horrified. Yuri was about to ignore them once again, but this time the long haired twin yelled out at the top of her lungs as she clenched her fists, "You idiot, you're _killing _her!"

Everything went silent. All three Akatsuki stared at the shaking girl. Suddenly the room seemed to get colder as Itachi's voice asked threateningly, "What did you say?"

The girl face was still filled with terror, but not of Itachi. She looked like she was about to cry as she yelled again, "You're killing her! You're killing her!" Tears fell from the girls eyes and the other two children rushed to her. Her twin enveloped her in a hug, though tears could be seen on her face as well. The boy stood in front of both of them, his face showing that he was just as effected by the news as the other two, though he wasn't crying.

The boy spoke next, his voice quivering as he stared down Itachi who was still glaring at them, "Are you _trying _to kill _her too_?" He then shifted his gaze to Yuri as he said, "Don't tell me you've not let her out of here? If you don't let her out of here she'll die! Don't you know anything?!"

Yuri had had enough and she knew that so had Itachi. She quickly handed Sakura to Itachi, then for a moment it was like she disappeared. The next thing the boy knew, she was holding his neck in one hand, her thumb poised to press down on his trachea if he angered her any more. "Tell us what you mean or I'll kill you." It wasn't an empty threat either.

The boy looked in her eyes, his gaze steady, even though she could tell he was frightened. His voice was steadier than before as he said, "You can't lock one of _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_ in a room like this and expect her to be fine! In a room with no windows and no way for Nature's Light to get to her…what else do you expect to happen to her?!"

He paused as he seemed to think of something, then he asked, "You don't know, do you?" He didn't wait for an answer, "I'll tell you then. For _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_, being starved of Natures Light…it's like being starved of food, or water, or sleep or other things like that! We can live for a little while without Nature's Light, but if we don't get enough, we'll get sick, and if we don't get enough for too long…we die, just like one can die of starvation, dehydration or sleep deprivation."

Yuri asked threateningly, "What's 'Nature's Light'…?"

The boy once again looked shocked, but he answered anyways, "It's…well, it's nature's light….light that comes from nature…like sunlight, moonlight, starlight…things like that. We _need _it…we don't live long without it."

Yuri let go of him as she heard Itachi ask threateningly, "How do we help her?"

It was the twins who answered in quivering voices, "The same way you help someone who's hungry…you give them what they need. She need's Nature's Light…so you need to get her to Nature's Light."

* * *

Sakura barely noticed when she was transferred from one set of arms to another. The ringing in her ears was getting louder, and it now seemed to be joined by the loud beating of a drum…or maybe it was her heartbeat…she wasn't sure. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes because even with them closed, she felt like she was stuck in a tornado. 

The loud sounds continued and she no longer could tell who was speaking, but she could still tell that there was conversation going on outside of her. She also couldn't tell who was now holding her, all she knew was that they hadn't spoken since they'd taken a hold of her. Then suddenly that changed, she felt and heard a familiar rumble. She knew right away without a doubt that Itachi was holding her. She thought she felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach do a flip, but it may have just been due to her nausea.

The voices continued and she felt the rumble again as Itachi said something else. After a bit more talking she felt herself go from being held upright by Itachi to being carried by him. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she felt comfortable and even safe in Itachi's arms. Then they were moving, and the feeling of nausea increased drastically.

For a long time it was all she could do to hold onto her consciousness as the act of moving messed up her senses more than they already were. She didn't notice anything other than her discomfort and Itachi's arms around her until they finally stopped moving. Once they'd stopped moving she heard voices and then there was a change in the light around her that she could see even with her eyes closed.

Warmth hit her skin, and suddenly she felt like she'd found something she hadn't even known she was missing. It was slow going, but she was starting to feel better. Her eyes stayed closed as the dizziness and nausea started to fade. She didn't plan to open her eyes until she was sure the room wouldn't be spinning. She'd had enough of spinning already, she just wanted to hold still.

Sakura let herself relax into Itachi's arms, though she knew she shouldn't. It just felt so reassuring to know that he was holding her. She didn't know how long it took, but finally she carefully opened her eyes. In front of her she saw her cousins as well as Yuri and Tobi. They were all staring at her, and she could almost feel the relief in the room as she looked at them.

Sakura then looked up at Itachi, who was still holding her. His face was emotionless, but somehow Sakura knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had been just as worried, if not more worried, than the others had been. Sakura felt her face heat up so she quickly looked away from him, returning her gaze to the others, hoping no one noticed that she was blushing.

It looked like her three cousins were holding themselves back from running to her. Yuri's face was blank, but her eyes showed a mix of relief and…something else she couldn't discern. Though she couldn't see Tobi's face, the one eye that she could see held happiness as well as curiosity. She didn't dare look back up at Itachi, she didn't have to look at him to know his face would still be blank.

Sakura gave a small smile, letting them know she was ok. Then she looked around her for the first time and saw that she wasn't in her room. She guessed that this was her cousins' room because there were three beds and a few toys scattered across the floor. Her eyes moved to a window that she could just see out of the corner of her eye. The window was behind her, but she couldn't see it well due to the fact that her back was facing it.

Then she remembered the fact that she was still being held by Itachi. She knew her face turned red as she said in a much smaller, quieter, voice than she would have liked, "I think I'm fine now…You can put me down." But just like her Chakra earlier that morning, he didn't do as she asked. And just like that morning, she tried again, hoping for different results, but getting the same one instead.

Finally Sakura looked up at him as she ordered, "Put me _down_." But he just looked at her, and it was like he was pretending not to hear her, or like he was waiting for something. Sakura, fed up, growled angrily, "Itachi, _put me down_!"

Sakura was surprised when she saw something like satisfaction momentarily appear in his eyes. But then he said in his emotionless voice, "No." Sakura's brows snapped together and she opened her mouth to speak again when he suddenly repositioned his arms, causing her to cling to him so that she wouldn't fall. She then had to wait for the bout of dizziness that the sudden movement had caused her to go away before she could do anything other than hold onto him.

The dizziness still wasn't completely gone when she heard and felt his voice rumble, "You're not fine…and you know it." Sakura let go and looked away from him, her face red. She noticed for the first time that the others were gone. When had they left? She didn't know, but now that it was just the two of them, she felt even more…what?...Nervous… embarrassed…out of place…glad…? She really just couldn't be sure, her emotions were still confused.

But then once again the thought hit her that she was _still _being held by Itachi Uchiha, and she knew she shouldn't be. This wasn't right…she shouldn't be letting him hold her…she shouldn't be letting him do whatever it was that he was doing to her heart. It just wasn't right.

Her heart retched, but she forced herself to say as she kept her eyes on the ground, "Please, just put me down." She could hear the sadness that had escaped into her voice, but she couldn't do anything about it, her heart hurt too much. Once again though, Itachi didn't do anything to show he'd heard. Sakura looked back up at him and she hated how her voice sounded like she was pleading as she repeated, "_Please_…just put me down."

But once again he just looked at her without even acting like he'd heard. Sakura felt awful again, but this time it was completely emotional. This was all just wrong. She shouldn't be letting him hold her. She should be trying to break out of his grasp, even if she knew it was futile, which she did.

With that thought, though she knew it was not only futile but also childish, she pounded weakly on his chest with her fists. "Put me down. Just put me down…" She heard her voice crack and she knew that tears were beginning to come to her eyes, even though she was fighting against them, but she continued anyways, "Please….Itachi…just put me down." Her voice wobbled as she fought back tears that were beginning to fall while she still pounded on his chest with what little strength she could muster, "Please, just stop, just put me down…this is wrong…this…it…just stop! This just isn't right!"

The world began spinning again, but this time she wasn't sure if it was because Itachi had moved her again, or if it was due to her not getting enough breath as she pleaded for him to let her go. She heard him say as the world began to settle, "I will not put you down when even the slightest movement is obviously enough to make you dizzy. The fact that each time I've move you just a little bit and you've had to cling to me…it's enough to show that you are currently incapable of standing on your own."

Now that the world was still again, Sakura noticed that Itachi was now holding her in one arm alone. She also noticed that she was still 'clinging to him' as he'd termed it. She blushed and let go of him, letting her arms come down to her lap, where she kept her eyes stationed rather than look at Itachi.

She tried once more, though she had to admit it was half-heartedly, "Please, Itachi…please…stop doing this to me…stop it…it's just not right…" Her voice caught in her throat as she added, "We're enemies…this just isn't right…We--"

She was cut off as Itachi's free hand gently raised her head so that she was looking at him. His hand then moved to wipe the tears that were still on her face as he said, "I'm not putting you down…and I'm not letting you go. I've made my peace with what we are…I know I love you even though, as you termed it: 'we're enemies'. Now you just have to come to terms with it as well."

Sakura tried to look away again, but Itachi's hand held her face so that she couldn't look away. She felt tears pricking her eyes again, but she didn't let them fall. This hurt her so much…she wanted to love him but she knew she should hate him.

Somehow he must have read all that in her eyes because he then said, "Sakura, you're causing your own heart ache. Your mind is telling you to hate me…but your heart is telling you something that your mind is not letting you listening to…you _already _love me."

Sakura bit her lip. She knew he was right…but her heart hurt so much knowing what he'd done. She couldn't just make herself forget that he was a murderer. And even if she could make herself forget that fact, it wouldn't stop it from still existing…from still being a fact. Once again it came right back down to the fact that she loved him when she knew she should hate him…and that her mind was telling her one thing and her heart another. Sakura felt her heart twinge in pain.

Itachi must have read everything yet again in her eyes because he then said almost gently, "Sakura, you're only hurting yourself. We both know you love me, so stop fighting it." Sakura stared up into his black eyes, she knew what he meant, but it wasn't that easy. There were just too many things he'd done that she couldn't ignore.

"Itachi, w--" As had happened before, Itachi silenced her with a kiss. When the kiss ended, however, she asked as she had before, this time with possibly even more meanings than before.

"Why, Itachi…_why_?"

* * *

I hope you liked it! It was pretty long...at least for me. I'm sorry about the long wait, but like I've said before, blame school not me (I had another three tests). 

As I said: A)Yuri will be her first name, and Konan her last, B) Tobi is not the 'higher up' who Pein (the Leader of the Akatsuki, for those of you who don't know) reports to (that will be an OC).

Lots of people asked about who Yuri Konan likes...it will be revealed eventually, so you'll just have to wait. All I'll tell you is that it is NOT Itachi...really, would she be so nice to Sakura if she liked Itachi?

I've put up two links to pic's. One is a pic I did of Sakura's cousins, the other is a picture of Sakura and Itachi that my friend, Wolf-chan, did.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome and I needn't mention who isn't. Now, on to what you've all been waiting for…the _pretty list_! (Oh! And I'm so happy I have made so many peoples' day!)

Thanks to: LadySakuraForest, Jax9, magickbendingdemon (the higher up will be a OC), panicatthediscotime, meisi, Gothic Saku-chan, Sandlewood996, Crazy Neko Girl, cherryblossomsky, Starlight - Wild Koneko, SnowSkadi (One reason he told him was because he was Leader, so he would expect/deserve to be told everything. The other reason would be that it would be hard for Itachi to hide his feelings for her completly.), DemonicAngel08 (Pein is the leader of the Akatsuki), Flower of the Desert, Lucy-san, Sakimi1014, Cute-killer-Gurl, Hatake Kai (As I said, her name will be Yuri Konan), Rangerette, Shadow Ninja , Addi-Chan, Itachi4Eva (Aww...thank you. As to looking up the Naruto manga, my computer is too stupide to do that, otherwise I would.), Purity of a White Rose, Uchiha Tomoe, Quiet Moon, xokatherine229, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx (happy birthday...late), won't be the Victim, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, UchihaMarina, sakuragirl13579, sakura-angel113, PhAnToM SpEaKeR, xnarutoxrocksx, chikarubunny, Hao'sAnjul, tora.of.the.sand, Confuzzled239 (I really don't know), Shade, LaReSaKa, shadow miko, The Reveiwer known as Name, animelover123456, Tsubasa-Angel, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, dark Alley, Alone in a Blizzard (I know what it's like to have a parent who doesn't understand the need for anime/manga), UchihaForever, DeidaraAddiction (really?), 43InuAsha, Gaara's-Guardian-Angel (you're not supposed to know), CosenAngel, Taki-kun, SilverMononoke, SpeedDemon315, lil'kit CC, & hot-ninja-babe for reviewing!


	9. Explanations

Disclaimer: I'm behind on Naruto…do you really think I own it?

**Chapter 9: Explanations**

Yuri had quickly gotten everyone out of the room, knowing that it would be best to give Itachi and Sakura time alone. She ended up having to order Tobi to play with the kids so that she could leave to talk with Pein. She had planned to drop off the three children with Sakura before going to tell Pein what she'd found out. She had also been planning to ask Sakura some questions, but that obviously didn't happen.

Now she'd have to report on what she'd been able to get out of the Sound ninja as well as Sakura's…condition. Yuri composed herself, making sure that she showed no emotion whatsoever, then she knocked on Pein's door. He bade her to enter, and she did. Once the door was closed behind her he asked in a bland tone, "What have you found out?"

Yuri stood straight and answered in her normal, monotone, voice, "I'm afraid that they were from the bottom of the barrel…they knew very little of why they were doing what they were doing. Their orders were to find out where Miss Haruno was kept, and if the opportunity arose, they were to capture her and bring her back to Sound alive…and preferably unharmed."

"They don't know why they were to capture her. What they did know, was that the order came directly from Orochimaru himself. The one who gave them their orders was Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke…" Yuri paused, then decided to tell him what else she'd been told, "They also gave me one other bit of information…but it's more gossip than fact. Do you wish to know it, even though it may not be true?"

Pein took a few steps closer as he nodded for her to continue, "Very well, then. You already know that Miss Haruno was on the same Gennin team as Sasuke Uchiha as well as the nine tailed fox's container. Well, the two Sound ninja, who I spoke with separately, both gave me the same bit of gossip."

"They both said that there had been a rumor going around Sound for a little over a month now…that Sasuke and Kabuto captured a Hoshi before Itachi killed most of them, and that ever since then, they have been searching for Miss Haruno. That part was a fact, and I know they were telling the truth because I could see it on them. But the gossip part is that people think that it was actually Sasuke who originally ordered her to be captured, and not Orochimaru…and that he did so because of his previous connection to her."

Yuri went quiet and waited for Pein to say something. He seemed deep in thought for a while, then he came out of it and took a few steps closer as he said, "That is most likely just gossip. From what I've heard, that boy never cared about Sakura, even when they were on the same team. But the other part of that, the part about them having captured a Hoshi…that is what bothers me…"

He took another step forward as he said, "The Hoshi they took was Renji, the best Time Walker they had while Sakura wasn't there. With that being the case, we can assume that Orochimaru has found out who Sakura is and possibly even what she's capable of…and that's not good. But it does explain why he's after her all of a sudden."

Yuri kept her face bland as she asked, "Would you explain your train of thought? I'm not following why that traitor is after Miss Haruno."

Pein sighed, but just took another step forward as he explained, "I'm certain that Orochimaru has forced Renji to walk through time to get him information. Most likely he would want to find a way to get revenge on the Akatsuki, since he hates us so much. Those children have already told us that Renji had been looking into Sakura's past and future when he was taken."

"We must assume that Renji found out who her father was. At the same time, we must assume that he either had the ability to See Sakura's future himself, or he Saw the time before her birth when her mother prophesized about her. Either way, it means that Orochimaru will know much more than he should, and that it will cause us more problems."

"If my assumption is correct, and I'm sure it is, then Orochimaru will do everything he can to get his hands on her because he _knows_. We cannot allow that to happen. As it is, Sakura is very valuable, even if you only add in the Hoshi's side of her lineage. After all, she was taught by one of the Sannin, and has possibly even surpassed Tsunade. She's a genius when it comes to strategies and the like. She's got perfect Chakra control. She can heal as well as kill. She's a Time Walker, possibly the strongest the Hoshi clan has ever seen."

"With all that, she is already extremely valuable to whoever she is with, but that's not all there is to her. After we add in her father's lineage to her already extensive profile…" He paused, then said, "The only down side is that she's currently inexperienced with her Kekkei Genkai, but that will change eventually. When it does, she will go from extremely valuable, to priceless."

Yuri asked as if she really didn't care, though she truly cared a lot, "How do you know that?"

Pein took another step closer as he said, "Because of what Sakura's late mother prophesied about her. Even though I haven't been told what all was said in that prophesy, I have been told that one day she will surpass _both _of her parent's legacies."

For all that, Yuri had been keeping her emotions tightly locked away so that they wouldn't show; but this piece of information shocked her so much that she let a bit of it slip onto her face. "Stronger than _both _of her parents? But that would mean…"

"Yes," stated Pein, "She will one day be too powerful for us to control. For now even I can control her if I need to, though it wouldn't be easy. But that could change, any day, any time. She currently is only at the first of the four levels, but I myself am only at the second level; so I am stronger than her, but just barely. _He _is at the fourth and final level, but it was prophesied that she would one day reach that level as well. When that happens, no one will be able to stop her or hold her back from doing whatever she pleases."

He took yet another step closer as he said, "That is one of the reasons why _He _agreed to allow Itachi to court her. _He _hopes to make her willing to stay with us when the time comes that she is more powerful."

He took another step closer, and now he was little more than an arms length away form her as he said, "It was for that same reason that _He _allowed you to get close to her. But _He _is worried, and so am I, that you're close to her for the wrong reason." He took another step closer, and Yuri feared she knew where this was going. Her fears were proven true when he asked, "So, tell me, why are you close to her? Why do you act like you're her mother, when you know you're not?" Yuri didn't answer, after all, he already knew what she'd answer.

He took another step closer, and she kept her face emotionless as he said, "Yuri, she is not your child, so stop treating her as if she was. You've got to get over him! I've told you countless times: it would be best for you to get over him like _He _told you to. Yet here you are, trying to treat his only child like she was your own. That is _not _a sign of you getting over him! You _need _to get over him!"

Yuri didn't say anything; she just stared over his shoulder, pretending to be listening. Suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly shook her as he elaborated for the umpteenth time, "You need to get over what can never be, what you can never have. You need to look beyond what's holding you back or you'll never be able to move forward to where you need to be. If you don't let go, you'll never get to where you know you truly belong."

Once again Yuri kept her face emotionless. She'd heard this so many times, it was getting redundant. Didn't he understand by now that she couldn't tell her heart who to love and who to forget. Love just didn't work that way. Just as always, her silence was the last straw in the conversation that pushed Pein over the edge. Yuri prepared herself for the inevitable. She hated how this conversation always had to end like this.

* * *

Itachi stared at her without speaking for a long while, and Sakura feared he'd refuse to answer her. After all, if he was any bit like he was in the past, he wouldn't like to answer questions. But she needed answers, and he was the only one who could give them to her. So she waited, looking up at him and trying to ignore how fast her heart was beating. 

His face never changed, it stayed as emotionless as ever, but finally he said something, "Why what?" He paused and she was about to retort angrily, but he put one callused finger to her mouth as he said, "I don't like wasting words, Sakura. If you want an answer, you'll have to be more specific." Sakura stared at him. Was he actually willing to answer her? She hadn't expected that.

But she wanted to know so many things…how was she supposed to put her questions to words. Where was she to start? What was most important? What information should be a priority? What information could wait? What answers were she really looking for…what answers would help her the most? These were the questions she needed to answer, and fast, before he decided not to answer her.

* * *

He watched as her eyes clouded over and she got lost in thought. He expected that, she had many questions, but even she didn't know which ones she had been asking when she had asked 'why'. He had a feeling, though, that he knew what her first question would be. She would want to know—Sakura's voice cut through his thoughts as she asked what he had expected her to ask, "Why did you kill them?!" 

He heard her voice catch in her throat, and though he knew whom she was talking about, he wouldn't answer until he heard it from her. He was waiting for her to specify, but then he noticed that she was waiting for him to answer, so he said blandly, "I've killed many, Sakura…" It was blunt, but he knew she'd get the point. They were both ninja and that was what ninja did, they killed. If she wanted an answer, she would have to be direct.

He watched as she battled with emotions until finally she asked both angrily and sadly, "Why did you kill my clan? What did they ever do to you? What--" His moving of himself and her cut her off. As he began slowly walking, she stopped speaking and clung to him, and he knew she was still getting dizzy easily.

He went to the one bed where the sun from the window was shining. He sat on the edge of the bed and he put Sakura on his lap so that the sunlight would cover her completely. He then wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to get over the dizziness as he thought about what he would tell her, and what it would be better to leave out. He would tell her everything one day, but not today…not when she was still in an emotional upheaval.

* * *

Once Pein pulled away from Yuri, he took a step back, and looked at her. Yuri knew that her face would still be emotionless, so she had to wonder what he was looking for. Whatever it was, he must have found it because he then took another step back and asked blandly, "Is there anything else you need to tell me about?" 

Yuri made sure that her voice would be composed before she said, "Yes, Pein...It's about Miss Haruno." Pein raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, so she continued, "Apparently she…this will sound odd, but…she apparently needs light to live…" Yuri trailed off, knowing how weird it sounded that someone needed light to live.

But to Yuri's surprise, Pein wasn't surprised at all, "I see…so, she inherited that little Hoshi trait as well. We weren't sure whether or not she would inherit that, seeing as she's only half Hoshi." He looked at Yuri, and then said as if her face wasn't emotionless, "You're wondering why something like that would be a trait that Hoshi's would want, correct?" He didn't wait for her to answer, "After all, needing light to survive is more likely to hold you back then help you forward."

Yuri nodded, and Pein said, "The reason why the Hoshi's have that little trait after they awaken their Kekkei Genkai is…due to their pessimistic nature. You see, Hoshi's use this 'trait' as a form of ritual suicide, should they ever be captured and forced to use their abilities to bring about death. For example, that's how Renji most likely died."

Yuri took a step back, momentarily betraying her emotions, but she ironed her face back to an emotionless mask as Pein continued, "Yes, it's an odd reason, isn't it? But that's how messed up the Hoshi clan could be. They wanted to be sure that they would have a way to escape being forced to do something that goes against their nature."

"With the knowledge that most prisoners are kept underground, the Hoshi's figured that their perfect protection was to make themselves need light to live. That way if they were held captive away from the light, they would soon die and no one would know why; thus they could protect their honor…their pride…their way of life."

"That was one of their best kept secrets, their need for light. I know that Orochimaru didn't know about that, since we know Renji is dead, but he may have figured it out due to Renji's death… We'll have to be extremely observant from now on with things concerning the Sound and Sakura."

Pein shook his head before going on to another topic, "Now that we know for sure that Sakura is light dependent, we'll have to make it so that she can get light daily. For now, just being in a room with windows should be enough, but Sakura…and those three Hoshi brats…will need to go outside sometime; filtered light will only sustain them for so long. About once a week should suffice…"

Yuri nodded her head, "So, I should prepare a weekly trip outdoors for her?"

"Yes." Pein said as he turned round; his back now facing her he continued, "Make sure that when they go out, that all five of you assigned to her stay near by. Three of you, Tobi, Deidara, and you, are to stay within sight of Sakura at all times. Itachi and Kisame are to search for anyone nearby who could be after her."

Yuri waited for him to continue, and when he didn't she asked, "Is that all?"

"For now…" Was his answer. Yuri turned around and began walking towards the door when Pein said, suddenly standing behind her, in a voice that she knew only she had ever heard, "Yuri…" She suppressed a shiver…was he going to do that again?

* * *

There...it didn't quiet go where I thought it would...but I guess that happens when it takes over a week to write bits and pieces of a chapter (I wrote it at school whenever I had the time). I've got to say, it was very annoying to have to write it one small bit at a time rather than write all of it in one whole session. 

Reviews and constructive criticisms are a welcome sight, flames, however, shall be erased from existence. Now, to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Corrupt Blossom, Sakimi1014, Gaara's-Guardian-Angel, DemonicAngel08, SnowSkadi, chester-roxs, Sunset Sky, dark Alley, Rangerette, 43InuAsha, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, LadySakuraForest, Tsubasa-Angel, Chibi Saku-Chan, xnarutoxrocksx, sakura-angel113, Quiet Moon, sweetsimplcity, Chocochip Haruka, krazykoreangurl (you'll see soon enough), Starlight - Wild Koneko, Caramel Latte, Hao'sAnjul, bubbleyum, Fallen to Earth, chikarubunny, Cute-killer-Gurl, sakuragirl13579, hot-ninja-babe, CosenAngel, xokatherine229, reader-not-a-reviewer, tonnora, Addi-Chan, Itachi4Eva, The Reveiwer known as Name, SilverMononoke, animelover123456, magickbendingdemon, kibaku0nedo, Blood Blossom, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, yourmaster, LaReSaKa, DeidaraAddiction, Kittibit Gaara, Alone in a Blizzard, LilBitzer, Lucy-san, Flower of the Desert, SpeedDemon315, Could-Careless (there, you're on the pretty list), Confuzzled239, Gothic Saku-chan, Taki-kun, & Sakura2.0 for reviewing!


	10. Why…Itachi’s View

Disclaimer: **JUCHKO**: Only when pigs fly. **Wolf-chan **(the person I based Inuka off of): -picks up Ino and throws her out a window- **JUCHKO**: -uh...Technically that's considered falling, not flying, and Ino means boar, not pig. **Wolf-chan**: Oh well…it was worth a try…

**Chapter 10: Why…Itachi's View**

Itachi watched as Sakura looked up at him, her eyes questioning. Now was the time to tell her, "It's for the best that they are dead." She opened her mouth, but he knew she would ask 'why' yet again, so he continued, "I originally planned to only kill that old woman after getting some information from her. But before I left to kill her, Leader told me something."

Itachi let that sentence hang in the air as he watched Sakura's face go from angry, to sad, to confused. He continued, "Leader knows many things, and he knew that the Hoshi's were planning to do something to you that neither of us would like." The confusion became even deeper set in Sakura's eyes, but she didn't interrupt.

"I questioned a number of Hoshi's and found that what Leader had told me was true. The Hoshi's were planning to make you into 'The Pillar' of their society. In simple terms, it means that they planned to force you to stay in their village and never leave so that they could force you to do whatever it was that The Pillar did. If you want to know what that was, ask your cousins."

Itachi studied Sakura's face again, and saw that she was trying to hide the horror she felt at the thought of what he'd told her. But he had more to tell her…that was only the tip of the iceberg, "The Pillar of their society, who had to be a Time Walker, had to live under the weight of many restrictions. As I said, they could never leave the village. They also could never talk to non-Hoshi's." He could see the fear of such a life spread like wildfire behind Sakura's eyes, but there was one other thing he had to tell her. Something he knew she would hate even more.

"There's one more thing…The Pillar always had an arranged marriage to another Time Walker. That old woman and the other elders had already arranged for you to marry your second cousin, whose first wife had just recently died bearing his eighth child." Itachi was somewhat glad to see the disgust behind Sakura's now large eyes.

"As you can see…you wouldn't have liked that whatsoever." He paused and smirked before he added, "I didn't like it either, so I killed them." Sakura didn't say anything, she just stared at him.

On her face, he read that though she now understood why _she_ would have hated it, she was still confused as to why he had killed them. She obviously wasn't seeing his reason for not wanting that life for her, even though he had painted such a clear picture for her. She was most likely still trying to understand the earlier part of the conversation, and had therefore not yet absorbed everything he'd said.

Itachi let his smirk reappear; he knew how to help her see what was right before her eyes. The fact that she was already staring up at him made it easy for him to bend down and kiss her. She was so lost in her confusion, that she didn't even notice he was kissing her at first. When she did, here eyes widened and her face turned bright red. She didn't lean into the kiss, but she didn't push away, either. That would have to be good enough for now.

Itachi pulled back, satisfied with their progress. At least this time she hadn't fought him…it was a start. He watched, amused, as Sakura quickly looked down at her lap, trying in vain to hide her blush. He hoped that now she understood why he'd had to kill her clan.

Once the majority of her blush was gone, she asked, without looking back up, "You killed them because of me then?" Her head sunk lower as she said almost to herself, "It's my fault their dead…it's all my fault."

He didn't like the tone of her voice; she was blaming herself for something he'd done. That wouldn't do. "No," he said sternly, making her head jerk up, "I killed them because they were going to take you from me." He decided not to add that he also hadn't wanted her to be unhappy because of them too. That would only make her blame herself more.

She was now staring up at him with sad eyes as she said, "But it's still my fault, isn't it? It's all because of me. If not for me, they'd still be alive. If not for me…" She bent her head again as she continued, "…if not for me…the Uchiha's would still be alive too." He felt her begin to tremble as she said, "It's all my fault! If I'd never messed with time, and you'd never met me, they'd all be alive. If-"

Itachi interrupted harshly, "_Enough_." Sakura quickly closed her mouth, looking almost afraid. Itachi mentally sighed, he hadn't meant to scare her, but he wasn't good at this kind of thing. He'd have to try to be a bit more gentle. "Stop blaming yourself." he began, making his voice less harsh and more stern, "You didn't know what you were doing back then. Besides, it was me, not you, who decided to kill them…so how could you be to blame for my actions?"

He had meant for that to be a rhetorical question, but apparently Sakura didn't know that because she answered, "Because if you'd never met me, you'd have never killed your clan or mine! If you'd never met m-" Itachi cut her off.

"We'll probably never know what would have happened if I hadn't met you, because I _did _meet you. That's all there is to it, so stop trying to complicate it by asking 'what if?'. For all we know, I could have decided to kill them anyways, so stop it."

She looked down at her shaking hands, looking deep in thought, and for a moment he thought she'd actually let it rest. But then her voice quivered as she spoke, "But it _is_ my fault…maybe he knew that somehow…maybe that's why he…" She trailed off and he felt her begin to tremble slightly again, though she tried to hide it.

He used one hand to lift her face up, and on her face he saw the look he remembered from all those years ago. The look that meant she was thinking about the boy who had hurt her. Back then he'd had no clue who the person had been, but now he had a guess. After all, he now knew who had been on her Gennin team as well as the other clues she'd dropped about his identity back in the past.

If he was right, he had made a terrible mistake when he'd let him live. "By him…you are referring to my foolish little brother, are you not?" Sakura froze, and that was all the answer he needed. She had told him long ago that her first love had betrayed 'everyone' to become a rouge ninja, effectively breaking her heart.

Now he wished he hadn't let Sasuke live. At the time, he hadn't seen a reason to kill him. He had hated everyone else so strongly, but Sasuke was only an annoyance, and something had told him that killing him wouldn't be a good thing. He hadn't known at the time that the reason he'd refrained from killing Sasuke was because of the fact that, even though he didn't remember it, Sakura had always been so obsessed about making Sasuke happy.

So he'd give the vague excuse of having wanted to test his powers. After all, at the time, even he hadn't known why he'd hated his family so much, just that he did. He also hadn't known how he'd found out that his supposed best friend, Shisui Uchiha, had been assigned to keep watch over him, or why he was so angry at Shisui for it. But now he did. Now he remembered everything.

He had hated Shisui not only because he had betrayed him by telling his father things that he had sworn to secrecy about, but also because of something else. If Shisui had only been doing what he'd been ordered to do, Itachi may have forgiven him. But he was doing it of his own free will because…and this really irked him…because Shisui had wanted Sakura for himself.

That had been too much for him. He had felt a deep hatred for his 'best friend' for betraying him, and a deeper hatred for his father and the rest of his family for wanting to make him marry someone he didn't love. When he'd first found out, he'd been able to reason with himself that he and Sakura wouldn't let them get between them. But then Sakura had left, and he no longer had anything to hold him back from the hatred that had been raging in his heart.

The first thing he had done was decide to kill his 'best friend' who had betrayed him. Then he had achieved his Mangekyo Sharingan. He decided to learn more about how to use his new ability before he did anything else. He didn't know why he hated his family so greatly, but he hated them and he wanted them dead. When he couldn't wait any longer, he killed them too. It was simple as that.

He had acted on pure instinct, since he couldn't remember so many things. He had always thought his instincts had never failed him and never would, but now he knew his instincts had failed him when it had come to his own brother. He should have killed him too, but he hadn't, and his brother had gone on to hurt Sakura. It was an unforgivable act…

Until now he'd merely been annoyed at his brothers existence the way one gets annoyed at a fly that constantly pesters you. He had just ignored his foolish brother, knowing Sasuke could never become a threat to him. He had thought that if Sasuke wanted to ruin his own life, he was welcome to it. But he hadn't known about Sakura then, so he hadn't known that letting his little brother ruin his own life would have direct negative effects on his beloved Sakura. Maybe it was about time to bring out the flyswatter and get rid of the pest.

Sakura's question broke through his thoughts, "How did you know that?" Itachi didn't say anything. He had told her he wouldn't waste words, and answering a question that she already knew the answer to would be a waste. He waited, and finally she sighed, "Fine…don't tell me…I think I know anyways…" Itachi smirked again, but she didn't see it because she was once again looking at her hands. She seemed to be trying to come up with her next question.

Suddenly her head shot up and she asked quickly, "Wait! How do you even remember me? She said everyone would forget about me!"

He let a chuckle escape him at how she had only just remembered that. She was now staring at him, but he didn't mind. "The mark…" He answered, his face blank again, "When I touched it, I remembered…" Sakura's face got serious and her eyes clouded over as if she were remembering something.

Finally she said, her eyes still clouded, "You remember the solar eclipse…It gave me many visions…and one of them was right after I had used the scroll…I saw you touch the mark…I saw other things too…I saw you kill great-grandmother…I saw Konoha being under attack…I saw-"

Suddenly Sakura's hand's flew to her mouth and her eyes widened in shock at whatever it was she remembered. Then she said, astonishment evident in her voice, "I saw Sasuke and Kabuto go to kidnap my uncle…and…I remember now…Sasuke also touched the mark!"

Sakura looked up at him, and he saw both longing for and fear of that being the case in her eyes. "So, do you think he remembers too?" She asked, but all he could do was shrug. He had a bad feeling that Sasuke really did now remember, but he hoped he was wrong.

Itachi watched as Sakura's hand moved to hold the necklace he'd given her. Her eyes were clouded over again, and she mumbled so quietly he almost didn't hear it, "In the vision he…if he remembered, then…why'd he…?" Sakura blinked a few times then looked at Itachi, a new look in her eyes, one that said she wanted an answer, and she wanted it now.

"While I was unconscious…after you guys caught me…I had a weird vision that was different from any I'd had before. I saw things…and I think they were of things that almost happened, or would have happened, if I had done different things. And in one of them…I ran into Sasuke and some other Sound ninja. By that time I was in bad condition and I passed out after I started coughing up blood right in front of him."

"I know Sound is after me, so I expected him to just pick me up and leave, like all my other visions had ended up. But he did something odd. He took this necklace from me and sent one of the ninja's off with it." Sakura looked him straight in the eye, something few dared to do, and asked, "Why did he do that? If he remembers, and I think he does, then what did he think made it necessary to do that to the necklace you gave me?"

Itachi didn't say anything as he contemplated whether to tell her or not. On one hand, he knew she'd be angry if he refused to tell her, on the other hand, she _could _be angered by his answer. He really wasn't sure how she would react…he knew she probably wouldn't be happy, but whether or not she'd be angry was a toss up. Well, that was a better choice than not telling her…at least with telling her, there was a chance she wouldn't be angry with him.

Itachi easily wrapped his hand around her hand that was holding the necklace. "If your vision was true, then he must have remembered, because I told him about it when we got home after the eclipse. He had wanted to know how I'd found you so easily, even though I hadn't known where you'd be. He wouldn't stop asking until I told him, so I did."

Itachi paused, then said, "The necklace I gave you is infused with some of my Chakra…so I can find you no matter where you are." He looked at Sakura's face, and found that she was trying to hide her shock and confusion. He waited a moment more, wondering what her shock would lead to, but all she did was look down, still shocked.

When she didn't do anything else, he moved his hand to her chin and made her look back up at him. She seemed to be trying to figure out her emotions. He decided to elaborate his reason, "After our mission in Suna…I'd come too close to losing you…and I knew I never wanted to lose you…so I decided that I would give you that necklace, so that it would always lead me to you."

He expected Sakura to do or say something that would reveal that she was unhappy with him, but she didn't. All she did was raise her hand to take his hand off of her chin so that she didn't have to keep looking up. Now that he thought about it, it probably wasn't easy on her having to crane her neck so much to look up at him. After all, he was much taller than her, so she had a long way to look.

They sat there in silence for a while. Finally he heard Sakura quietly ask, "Why…" She was back to that question again. "Why…?" She was now looking down at her shaking hands, she clenched them, but it didn't stop them from shaking. "Why did this have to happen? Why did I…" for a moment her voice raised an octave and he felt her start to tremble yet again, "Why did I have to fall for you? Why…did this have to happen? Why-"

Itachi knew that if he didn't do something, she'd start crying again, and he knew she didn't like people seeing her cry. Once again he tilted her head and kissed her, he then pulled away, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tightly against him as he said, "Stop looking so hard for a reason that no one will ever know. It's a waste of time and energy, just like asking 'what if?'."

Itachi rested his chin on Sakura's head as he said, "Just accept things as they are. The sooner you do that, the sooner you'll feel better." Itachi kissed her head, then just held her. They stayed like that for ten minutes until Sakura began to shift uncomfortably. Itachi loosened his grip on her as he asked, "What is it?"

Sakura shifted again and he saw that her face was pink as she pointed out the obvious, "You're still holding me…"

"Yes, I am." Itachi said, enjoying how she suddenly was once again bothered by that. "If I let you go, you might fall down again."

Sakura's face got redder as she said, "I'm fine now…I won't fall down…so…could you let me go please?" Itachi smirked, but slowly removed his arms from around her, he knew what would happen. She slipped from his lap and stood up. He watched as she began walking, one step, two steps, three…she swayed, and in an instant Itachi was by her side, holding her up.

In another instant, he was holding her in both arms again and saying, "You always say you're fine, even when you know you're not. You need to stop pushing yourself."

Just then a knock came at the door and Yuri walked in to find Sakura looking very annoyed at be being held like a child once again. Yuri mentally shook her head, the atmosphere in the room was much lighter than before, and she had to wonder how that came to be…especially with Sakura now sulking.

"Miss Haruno, if you are feeling better, you had best eat dinner."

* * *

There, that was long (it took me all Saturday to write)!

You won't be finding out what Pein does to Yuri for a while probably...just because I like to keep you guessing. Same thing goes for: if Sasuke really remembers, if Sakura's father is alive or dead, who the 'higher up' is (I think I may start refering to him as the Master...since Pein is called the Leader, it makes sense. What do you think?), and other things like that.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome to come into my domain…but if a flamer decides to try it, I'll tell Wolf-chan that they are a pig…and I don't think she'd care that it was a figure of speech…and the flamer would end up worse off than Ino, who was saved by a large cushion I had placed outside of the window, just in case. (fyi. The large cushion is no longer there.)

Now, on to the _pretty list_…oh, and here, have some bacon…or if you're a vegetarian, have this plastic bacon from my little cousin's play-kitchen.

Thanks to: xxx1xxx, krazykoreangurl, tonnora, Quiet Moon, Rangerette, Gothic Saku-chan, Kara Hitame, magickbendingdemon, Tsubasa-Angel, xnarutoxrocksx, LadySakuraForest, Akatsuki's-Kunoichi, xokatherine229, Dei-Kun's ChickaX, kikia-kiwi, White Wolf Pheonix, Chrisomu, sakura-angel113 (yeah, I'm very busy), Itachi4Eva (I know what it's like to know a story because your frined keeps talking about it. keep trying, I'm sure your friend will eventually give in and read it), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (Thank you. I do so love my cliffhangers...), Caramel Latte, Starlight - Wild Koneko, Flower of the Desert, Cute-killer-Gurl (yes, actually, I do think I like torturing you people with cliffhangers), Jax9, LilBitzer, UchihaMarina (other than all the tests and quizes and such, it's fine), chikarubunny (you should know me well enough by now to know I love confusing people. As to the voice part, I will tell you it was the tone of voice that was something you normally don't hear coming from him, but that's all I'll say), AngelicRedWings, Sakimi1014, Hao'sAnjul (there's only one person who knows what's _really_ going on, me, and I'm not talking. Besides, it's fun to confuse people (: ), Addi-Chan, Fallen to Earth, animelover123456, Kittibit Gaara, Hatake Kai, Alone in a Blizzard, LaReSaKa, SnowSkadi, Chibi Saku-Chan, SpeedDemon315, 43InuAsha, sakuragirl13579, won't be the Victim (It's supposed to be), yourmaster, CosenAngel, Mittelan, dark Alley, lil'kit CC, ., & ItchiUchiha for reviewing!


	11. Walkers

Disclaimer: Only in my dreams...and my friends' dreams...and possibly your dreams...but not in reality.

**Chapter 11: Walkers  
**

The next morning, after having gotten ready for the day, Sakura sat on her bed, waiting for Yuri to bring her breakfast. She didn't have to wait long. Soon Yuri came in with a tray of food, which she placed on the desk before turning to look at Sakura. "Good morning, Miss Haruno. Did you sleep well?"

"I guess so." Sakura said. Once again she'd had a 'normal' nights sleep, no visions to speak of. But for some reason, her lack of dream-visions unnerved her. She had gotten so used to them back in the past, that now, not having them felt weird. There was another thing that was odd too, and she planned to speak to Yuri about it. "Yuri, I have some questions…"

Yuri came over and sat by her, saying, "You are welcome to ask, though I may not have the answers." Though Yuri hadn't said it and her face was unreadable, Sakura knew that Yuri really meant that she may not be allowed to tell her the answers, rather than that she might not have the answers.

Sakura gave a diplomatic answer, "I see, that's understandable." Sakura paused, then she chose her words carefully, "What has been done to my Chakra? Why is it slow to do what I tell it to, and why will it only allow me to heal?" Sakura stopped there. She didn't have to tell Yuri that the previous night, since she'd felt better, she had decided to test her Chakra again.

She had found that nothing had changed. Her Chakra was still slow and still wouldn't do anything other than heal. The only good thing she could find was that her Chakra supply seemed to be increasing. She wasn't sure why any of this was, but she had a feeling that Yuri might. Yuri currently was touching the flower in her hair. Her hand came back down to her lap, and she prepared to speak.

"Your Chakra is being suppressed for obvious reasons. After all, we do know you take after Tsunade with her Chakra enhanced strength. We also know how powerful an opponent you can be with all your Chakra based attacks. After all, you did kill Sasori." Sakura nodded her head; she had had a feeling that that may have been the case.

Yuri stood up and said, "You should eat now. When you're done, your cousins would like for you to come visit them in their room."

Yuri started walking towards the door, so Sakura quickly called out, "Wait, Yuri." Yuri paused and looked back at her. "Does this mean you'll be letting me out of this room now?" Sakura really hoped the answer was yes. Yuri had told her about 'Nature's Light' and now that she knew, she didn't want to stay in a room with no windows any more than she had to.

Yuri gave her a fake smile as she said, "Yes, you can leave your room whenever you want. Of course, whenever you're not in your room, one of us will have to be with you. I'm sure I don't need to explain to you why." Yuri turned back to the door and said, "Eat your breakfast, Miss Haruno. I'll be back after you're finished to show you to your cousins'." She then opened the door and left.

* * *

As Sakura walked into her cousins' room, she was greeted by cries of, "Lady Sakura!" Her cousins all rushed to her and stopped right before they barreled into her. They then proceeded to quickly bow to her before the twins grabbed her hands and pulled her into the room. Noya said something to Yuri before he closed the door in her face.

The twins led her to one of the beds and motioned for her to sit on it. She did so as the twins clambered on the bed to sit by her. As Noya walked back to them, Sakura just had to say, "You know, Noya, Yuri's not going to be happy that you closed the door in her face like that.

Noya looked at her confused, then he asked, "…Yuri…do you mean Miss Konan? The blue haired woman told us to call her Miss Konan."

Sakura shrugged, "She told me to call her Yuri…I wonder why she told us to call her different things. Oh well, I'll have to ask her later, since she probably won't be in a good mood now." Sakura smiled as Noya tried to hide a blush as he came to stand in front of her.

Noya gave a small bow before taking her wrist and feeling for her pulse. Sakura waited patiently, and when he was done he said by way of explanation, "Just making sure you've completely recovered from yesterday." He then dropped her wrist and gave another bow before clambering up to sit beside Hanako.

Once he was settled Sakura said, "Speaking of yesterday…Yuri kind of explained to me about 'Nature's Light', but could you guys tell me more? Like what all is 'Nature's Light'? What should I know about it?"

It was Hanako who answered, "'Nature's Light' is light that comes from nature, as I'm sure you know. This includes sunlight, moonlight, and starlight. It can also come from firelight, but that isn't as substantial as real light." Hanako went quiet and Inuka picked up where she left off.

"Once a Hoshi's awakened, they need 'Nature's Light', much like a flower needs light." Inuka paused, then a smile broke out on her face as she asked, "Speaking of awakening, can we see your mark?"

Both Hanako and Noya exclaimed at the same time, "Inuka! Don't be rude!"

Inuka just stuck her tongue out at them before looking up at Sakura, "I wasn't trying to be rude…I just wanted to know." She then stared up at Sakura with puppy dog eyes, and Sakura could only smile. Without saying anything, Sakura took off the Akatsuki robe, then she pushed up the sleeve of her shirt so that they could see the scar like marks that went from her shoulder to her elbow.

As the children stared, Sakura hoped they'd hurry up, she was already getting cold without the robe on her. Finally she just lowered her sleeve and put the Akatsuki robe back on. Once she'd done that, she noticed that all three of them were still staring at her. "Umm…what is it?" she asked, somewhat nervous.

It was Noya who answered in an awed voice, "The Pillar wasn't kidding when he'd said that you would be the strongest Hoshi ever born since the time of the Great World Walker." Sakura just stared, not quite understanding what he was saying. But then her mind jumped on the fact that he'd mentioned The Pillar.

"What or who is 'The pillar'?"

All three were quiet for a moment until Noya answered solemnly, "The Pillar was the twins' father, Lord Renji, but now that he's…gone…I don't know. I would guess that it was you, since The Pillar is always a Time Walker, but…I don't know. Since we're not Time Walkers and we're not old enough to be elders, we don't know everything what qualifies The Pillar." He turned to look at Hanako and said, "You probably know more than I do about The Pillar…seeing as he was your father."

Hanako nodded, but Sakura noticed that she was trying not to show the fact that she was sad, "Yes…I know some things." She paused, then turned her eyes from Noya to Sakura, "As Noya said, we don't know everything about The Pillar, but I can tell you what I do know. The Pillar is chosen by the elders and the Time Walkers, though I don't know how the choice is made."

"Your mother was The Pillar for a short while before you were born. After her death, Inuka's and my father, Renji, became the new Pillar. The elders arranged for Lord Renji to marry his third cousin, our mother. Then we were born…causing our mothers death…father never remarried…" Hanako's voice trailed off and Sakura noticed that both Hanako and Inuka looked like they were fighting against tears.

Noya reached out and took Hanako's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hanako gave a small smile, but it was Inuka who cleared her throat and continued for her sister, "Since our father was The Pillar, we know more of what The Pillar did than we're supposed to." Inuka gave a mischievous smile that gave Sakura the idea that they'd spied on their father when they weren't supposed to.

Hanako smiled faintly at her sisters words, then said, "That's true…" She paused again, sitting up straight and once again hid her emotions. Having regained her control, Hanako took up where she'd left off, "The Pillar was extremely important to our society. The Pillar's main job was to constantly be scanning the time stream for anything of importance. For instance, they are the ones who say when a child should awaken and become one of _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_."

Hanako paused, and Inuka spoke suddenly, interrupting her sister, "Oh, yeah! Didn't you ask something about the different Walkers?" Sakura just nodded, halfway still absorbing what Hanako had told her and halfway amused by how annoyed Hanako looked to have been interrupted. Inuka continued happily, "You did, I remember! You-" Hanako reached across Sakura and smacked her sister on the head, effectively shutting her up.

Noya was shaking his head, mumbling something about over-enthusiasm, then Hanako sat straight again, and while Inuka rubbed her head, Hanako asked Sakura, "Do you want me to tell you about the different Walkers as well?" Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but just then, Inuka reached across Sakura, hit Hanako, retracted her hand, and stuck her tongue out childishly. This cause Hanako to turn red and begin to reach for Inuka again, but Noya caught her arm and shook his head no.

As Hanako pulled away from Noya's grasp, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It was fun to watch the twins have at it. She had noticed that all three were extremely mature for their age, so it made Sakura happy to see that they still could act like the children they were. When Sakura was able to stop laughing, she answered Hanako's question, "If you'd be willing to tell me about the different Walkers and about 'the awakening', I'd be happy to listen."

Hanako became serious again, and Sakura guessed that it must be a part of her personality, "Well, the first part of the awakening process is to have The Pillar say it is your time to awaken…normally that happens between the ages of ten and sixteen." She paused then said, "Hanako, Noya, and I are an odd case, seeing as all three of us were awakened at the same time three years ago. Father didn't know why, but he said that all the signs pointed to our needing to be awakened early." Hanako shrugged and went quiet.

Noya took over the explanation, "After The Pillar tells you it's time to awaken, he tells you what he Saw you as becoming. For instance, he saw that I am a Spirit Walker and that the twins were Element Walkers. It wasn't until after the awakening, however, that anyone knew that they were able to Dream Walk when they were together."

"There are four different scrolls meant to awaken the four different Walkers. If a child uses a scroll that isn't the one that correlates with what kind of Walker they're meant to be, then they won't awaken. You already know about the Time Walker's scroll: The Scroll of the Circle. The Element Walkers scroll is 'The Scroll of the Sphere', the Dream Walkers scroll is 'The Scroll of the Loop' and the Spirit Walkers scroll is 'The scroll of the Ring'."

"Since, you've already awoken, you know that you use your own blood to activate the scroll, and that it leaves a mark. What you may not know is that the size of the mark represents the strength of your Kekkei Genkai." Noya paused and pushed up his right sleeve, revealing about twenty small 'scars' on his forearm, near his wrist. The twins showed her their marks as well.

Sakura noticed that like her own mark, and like her great-grandmother's mark, one of their 'scars' overlapped another small scar that wasn't a part of the mark. Noya continued speaking, "You also probably don't know that the color the mark turns when you use any of the scrolls is dictated by what kind of Walker you are. Time Walkers are red, Spirit Walkers are blue, Dream Walkers are Yellow, and Element Walkers are green."

Noya went quiet and Hanako opened her mouth to speak, but Inuka interrupted, "I want to tell her about the Walkers!" Hanako glared at her for interrupting, but Inuka wasn't fazed in the least, instead she did puppy dog eyes as she added, "Pleeeeeaaaase!"

Hanako sighed, "Fine…go ahead…"

"Yippy!" Inuka exclaimed, bouncing in excitement. When Inuka finally calmed down some, she explained happily, "Ok, here we go! We'll start at the bottom of the pyramid and go up…so Element Walkers first! Element Walkers cannot be killed by any of the four elements. For instance, we cannot drown, nor can we be burned by fire, crushed by boulders, suffocated, or poisoned by gasses. We also tend to be better at different elemental Jutsu."

"Next are Dream Walkers! Dream Walkers can walk in the world of dreams…um…they can talk to others in dreams…and sometimes they can heal people's minds in their sleep. A few of the strongest Dream Walkers can even see the past and the present in their dreams. Um…they can ask questions in their sleep…or while meditating…and they will be answered by a vision…but those visions are really confusing lots of times and make absolutely no sense. That's why it's better to leave questions to Time Walkers, but…I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Hanako and Noya nodded, and Sakura smiled. Inuka scratched her head, "Sorry…anyways…on to Spirit Walkers! Spirit Walkers can talk to the spirits of the dead, but Noya already told you that. That's basically all they do though, but it's very helpful when you're trying to find out things that happened in the past or to find out things that a person took with them to the grave."

"Now, for the one that you are, Lady Sakura. Time Walkers are the only ones who can stay longer than a day in another time. They can also travel through time on a whim, even without The Scroll of the Circle; though it's a lot harder that way, according to our father." Inuka paused, and her face got sad at the mention of her father, but it wasn't long before her smile returned and she continued.

"As we said, Time Walkers are the only ones who can become The Pillar. I'm not sure about all the reasons for that, but I know one of the reasons is because only Time Walkers have the ability to see the future, or more like the possible futures. Time Walkers are also the only ones who have the ability to…you could say prophesize or map out…things that have to do with the future. Father said that it's easier to See the near future than the distant future, because…well, it has to do with The Laws of Time."

Inuka paused, and Sakura took that opportunity to ask, "What are 'The Laws of Time'? My—_our_ great-grandmother mentioned something about them…and she told me what she called 'the number one law of time'…but she didn't have time to explain."

It was Noya who answered politely, "The Laws of Time are the three basic laws that govern, or more to the point explain, what time is, what can be done with or in time, and what can not. The three laws are: 1) Time is nothing but a continuous circle, 2) The past cannot be changed, and 3) The future is not set until the deciding action is made."

Noya paused and let Hanako finish for him, "Technically the first law is the only law, but the other two laws were added on to make the first law's meaning easier to understand. But basically the laws mean that the past cannot be changed because it has already happened and that there are a number of possible futures available until a decision is made that makes all but one of those futures, the future that becomes the present, disappear."

The room went quiet for a few moments as Sakura absorbed what she'd been told. The silence was broken when Inuka exclaimed jubilantly, "Yup, those are the Laws alright! Now, back to what I was saying!" As Inuka continued speaking, Sakura noticed that both Hanako and Noya were shaking their heads at Inuka's behavior. "Um…what _was_ I saying?"

"Oh, yeah, I was talking about Time Walkers ability to prophesize. Well, I don't really understand how they do it exactly, because they all seem to do it different ways. Father, for instance, was able to look into a special orb that was made out of some weird see-through material, and he would find things there somehow. I also know that your mother threw different small items that were related to something that she was looking for, and how they landed told her something. But like I said, I don't know how it works, just that it does."

"I see…" Sakura said, her mind already jumping to her next question, "Do you know how Time Walkers know what they have to do to give prophecies or whatever it is that they do?"

Inuka shook her head, "Sorry…but that's something that Time Walkers kept to themselves."

* * *

There, I know there's not much going on in this chapter, but it has a lot of info that you should know. Sorry about slow updating, but school gets in the way (I've had tests after tests after quizes after tests).

**Wolf-chan**: Reviews and constructive criticisms welcome! And I wanna meet these flames! We'll see how long they last. Heh heh heh -evil grin- **JUCHKO**: -pushes Wolf-chan aside- Please, forgive this...thing...that stole the keyboard from me...but the message remains. **Wolf-chan**: -steals the keyboard back- Meanie -sticks out tongue- **JUCHKO**: -takes keyboard back yet again- I know! Well, on to the_ pretty list_!

Thanks to: Rangerette, Quiet Moon, magickbendingdemon (I can't completly change him. It's in his nature to be a cold blooded murderer.), Sakimi1014, LadySakuraForest, LilBitzer, xG3iSHa-PR0STiTUT3x, tonnora, krazykoreangurl, sakura-angel113, xokatherine229, ersay123, xnarutoxrocksx, Mittelan, Lucy-san, Hatake Kai, Sage Phoneix (I thank you for your kind words. You have many guessess, but I can't tell you whether or not they are even close...that would ruin the story. And yes, it is hard to write when I have to go to school.), SnowSkadi (I like confusing people), demons and angels, panicatthediscotime, sweetsimplcity, sakuragirl13579 (...ok...here's cake...), Tsubasa-Angel, Starlight - Wild Koneko, AngelicRedWings, Friesenator, Hao'sAnjul (I know what you mean), chikarubunny (You are funny. I'm glad I'm keeping you all on your toes. Oh, and thanks for all the long reviews, I love them), Itachi4Eva, Gothic Saku-chan, Jax9, Kittibit Gaara, QueenMeStar, meisi, temariluv, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Flower of the Desert, jHeyTTernallie, Liyah, 43InuAsha, Alone in a Blizzard, xxx1xxx, yourmaster, SpeedDemon315, Chibi Saku-Chan, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, angel2559 (happy late birthday), dark Alley (oh, don't worry, you'll be in the dark again reall soon), I-Love-Akatsuki, cherryblossomsky,CosenAngel, Ri-16-Chan (I'm a little confused...but thanks for the long review, both for this and my poem), won't be the Victim, Confuzzled239, ., Aiko Akane, Haru no hana, & lil'kit CC, for reviewing!


	12. Library

Disclaimer: Don't make me do something you wouldn't like…oh, wait, I already do that to you with cliffhangers…never mind…

**Chapter 12: Library**

After talking to her cousins for hours, Sakura felt that she now had a pretty good grasp on what it meant to be a Hoshi. Noya had just offered to teach her some of the simple techniques that all Hoshi's could do when a knock sounded at the door, soon followed by the door opening. Yuri stepped in with trays of food and behind her came Tobi with even more trays of food.

Sakura looked behind them as Tobi began to leave the room, and noticed that Itachi wasn't there. When she mentioned it, Yuri said, "He'll be back in a little while." Yuri, however, wouldn't mention where he'd gone. Sakura decided not to push for more information; instead Sakura sat down and ate silently, as did her cousins.

Though Sakura was calm and silent on the outside, her brain was on overdrive. She was thinking about everything her cousins had told her as well as the fact that she couldn't do much with her Chakra besides heal. Her mind was also trying to figure out what she was going to do about her and Itachi. She still wasn't sure what the right path for her to take was.

Sakura's thoughts were flying all over the place. Finally they landed on what Noya had told her not too long ago. He'd said that they hadn't been allowed anywhere other than their room and Sakura's room. That just didn't seem right to Sakura. Yuri had said she'd be allowed out of her room, so why shouldn't they get the same opportunity.

But Sakura had a feeling that she might know why. She was allowed out of her room because there was something that made her important to the Akatsuki, though what that could be, other than the fact that it was connected to her late father, she didn't know. But her cousins weren't important to the Akatsuki, so they weren't allowed to roam about as she was.

That gave Sakura an idea, so as she finished eating, she asked Yuri, "You said I'm free to walk around now, right?" Yuri nodded and Sakura continued, "Then could my cousin's and I take a walk around this place? You know, just to get some exercise and to see something new for a change."

Yuri didn't answer right away; instead she just looked at Sakura. After a few minutes of this, Yuri finally moved her gaze to the door as she said, "That is fine, but of course you will have to stay with one of us." She paused, then called loudly, "Tobi!" The door quickly opened, and the masked Akatsuki member hurried in. Yuri didn't give him time to speak as she ordered, "Miss Haruno and her cousins would like to explore. You are to stay with them and make sure that they don't get lost or go somewhere they shouldn't."

Yuri then turned to Sakura as she began picking up the now empty trays, "Tobi will accompany you, but I will not. I fear I have something that I must do." After picking up all the trays, Yuri pulled Tobi over and said something too quietly for Sakura to hear. After that, Yuri said goodbye and left the room.

Sakura looked at her cousins faces'; Inuka looked like she was about to burst with happiness and excitement, Noya looked like he would enjoy a good walk, and Hanako, though she hid it well, looked eager to get out of the room. Sakura asked all three of them, "Is there any place you'd like to go to in particular, or would you rather we just wander around?"

It was Inuka who answered first, loud as ever, "I want to go on an adventure! Let's look around and see what we can find!" Sakura smiled at Inuka's enthusiasm, then turned to hear what Hanako was beginning to say.

"I don't mind just walking around, it's better than being stuck in here." Hanako paused and looked at Noya, who nodded. She then said to Sakura, "Then we are in agreement, Lady Sakura."

Sakura smiled ruefully, "Then wandering it is…but like I've said before, you don't have to call me that."

Hanako took one of her hands, and Inuka the other as they both said in union, "Yes we do, Lady Sakura." Sakura shook her head, but didn't say anything more about it. There was no point in arguing with them; they'd already proven a number of times over the past few hours that they would continue to call her Lady Sakura, even though she didn't want them to.

* * *

As they walked down the corridors, Sakura and her cousins talked while Tobi followed behind them. Most of the time Tobi stayed quiet, but every once in a while he would enter the conversation. Currently the subject had turned to Sakura's medic skills.

"Yes, I'm a medic." Sakura said in answer to Inuka's question.

To Sakura's surprise, Inuka turned to Noya and exclaimed, "Maybe she can teach you, Noya!" Sakura raised her eyebrow, and Inuka turned to her and explained happily, ignoring how Noya was trying to make her be quiet, "Noya's mother was teaching him how to heal…" Inuka's voice became sad, and she didn't need to say it for Sakura to know that Noya's mother was now dead, and thus no longer able to teach him.

Noya spoke gently to Inuka, trying to cheer her up, "It's alright, at least I can still speak with her from time to time." Inuka looked somewhat comforted, but still she was sad, so Noya added, "And she doesn't want us to be sad because of her; none of them do."

They walked in silence for a while as Hanako took Inuka's hand and they slowed their pace so that they were walking behind Sakura and Noya. Sakura was worried about Inuka, but she knew that Hanako would be the best person to comfort her right now, and she knew that Noya knew that too. It was for that reason that she turned to Noya and asked, "Would you like me to teach you some more healing techniques?"

Noya looked up at her surprised. In his eyes she saw that he really wanted to learn to heal as he said politely, "I wouldn't want to burden you, Lady Sakura…"

Sakura shook her head. Sometimes Noya was too polite and well meaning for his own good. "You wouldn't be a burden." she assured him, "Besides, I wouldn't have offered to teach you in the first place if I wasn't willing to do so."

Sakura smiled as Noya turned a light pink and answered her, still polite, "If you would be willing, Lady Sakura, then I _would_ like to learn more about healing." He looked down at his feet and turned an even brighter shade of pink, giving Sakura the idea that Noya rarely asked for anything, especially not for himself.

Sakura smiled warmly, "I'd be honored to teach you what I know." Noya blushed more, and Sakura might have laughed, except for the fact that just then she was hit with an idea. She turned to look at Hanako, Inuka, and Tobi as she said, "Well, if I'm going to be Noya's teacher, then I'm going to need things to teach him with, like books." She turned her eyes to Tobi in particular and asked, "Would there be any medical textbooks around here somewhere?"

Tobi nodded his head, "Tobi knows where there are lots of books. Tobi can show you, if you want Tobi to." Though the mask hid his face, Sakura couldn't help but imagine that he was a little kid with a huge smile on his face.

"If you could show us where, that would be very helpful." Sakura then turned to the twins and said, "If you want me to teach you how to heal too, I can." Hanako just shrugged nonchalantly and Inuka nodded exuberantly.

Tobi took the lead. So far they had stayed on the first floor, but soon Tobi led them down a stairwell, then another and another. By then, Sakura was genuinely lost, but Tobi kept walking, so they kept following. They were walking through a corridor that had many closed doors, much like many of the corridors before it, but something made Sakura stop suddenly.

She didn't know why, but one of the doors seemed to catch her eye. It looked the same as the countless other doors they'd seen, but for some reason that Sakura couldn't comprehend, she felt as if this door was important. Before she knew it, she was reaching out for the door's handle. When her hand touched it she had to repress a shiver, though she didn't know why. She tried to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge.

Then she felt a hand on her arm, and turning to look, found that it was Tobi. "Miss Sakura, the books aren't that way." He lightly tugged on her arm; pulling her away from the door and back in the direction they'd already been going. For some reason, Sakura felt that Tobi was anxious to get her away from there, but it was probably just her imagination, for next Tobi said, "Please, Miss Sakura, don't do that again. Miss Konan will be angry with Tobi if Tobi let's Miss Sakura get lost." No, she decided, Tobi was just afraid of her getting lost and Yuri being angry with him for it. Why would he be anxious about getting her away from a door that was locked?

Sakura smiled and patted Tobi's arm reassuringly, as if he were a child, "I'm sorry for worrying you." Tobi nodded and released her arm and resumed leading them through the corridor. As they turned a corner, Sakura couldn't help but look back once more at the door. But then they were out of sight of the door, and Sakura turned her attention back up front.

It took another four stairwells and countless other corridors for them to finally reach a set of double doors that Tobi said led to the books. The doors were both over eight feet tall, but other than that, they looked exactly the same as all the other doors they'd seen before. Sakura dully noticed that these were the only doors she'd seen on this floor so far, but she chalked that up to them only having just reached this floor. Tobi opened one of the doors and let Sakura and her cousin's walk in, and then he came in himself and closed the door.

Sakura stared, never had she seen anything like this before. They were in a library, but it was no ordinary library, that was for sure. She had wondered why they'd had to go so far underground, and why there hadn't been any other doors on this floor, now she knew. Sakura looked up and guessed that the book-lined walls went up at least five stories, probably more. She then looked around but couldn't even begin to guess how expansive the library was.

Tobi, unaffected by the size of the library, strode forward, saying happily, "The medical books are this way." Sakura and her cousins followed him, still in awe of the size of the room. Tobi led them to a section of the library that looked much the same as any other part of the library, but as Sakura scanned the names of the books at her eyelevel, she knew this was the medical section.

"Thank you very much, Tobi. You saved us a lot of time and trouble." Sakura looked around and found that nearby there was an open space that had a number of comfy looking chairs. Sakura turned her attention to her cousins as she thought about what her first step should be. "Well, the first thing we need to do is find out how much Chakra you have, and how well you can control it." Sakura's eyes landed on Noya, "Since you've already said you have some healing experience, we will start with you and go from there."

* * *

After a number of hours, Sakura said, "That's enough for today. You all did very well." Sakura had found that their control of their Chakra was very good, though Noya's control was better than the twins by far; but Sakura figured that that could just be due to his being a few years older than them. She had also found that all three had a good amount of Chakra, though Inuka had the most. On the other side of it, though, Inuka had the hardest time controlling her Chakra, much like Naruto had when they were younger.

The thought of Naruto made Sakura's heart ach, but she didn't let it show. Instead she turned to Tobi and asked, "Are we allowed to take some books out of here?" Tobi nodded, "Thanks, then let's see what I can find to assign my young pupils as homework." Sakura heard Inuka groan from behind her. She knew it was Inuka and not Hanako, even though their voices were the same, because she knew Hanako would never let on that she didn't like something.

As Sakura scanned the books that were around her, she vaguely heard Noya and Hanako chide Inuka. It wasn't long until she found what she was looking for. There was only one copy, but it would have to do. She turned around and found Inuka sticking her tongue out at Hanako and Noya. Sakura walked up quietly behind Inuka and taped her lightly on the head with the book she'd just taken from the shelf.

"Now Inuka, don't go picking fights." Sakura paused, then gave a small smirk as she said, "Since you're so energetic, you can be the first one to read the first three chapters of this." Inuka groaned again, but took the book without further complaint. Sakura turned to Hanako and Noya, "You'll have to wait 'til she's done with it to read it. Since there's only one, you'll have to share, sorry. The rest of your homework is to meditate and work on your Chakra control."

Noya and Hanako nodded in understanding, so Sakura turned to Tobi, "Let's head back upstairs so that they can study." Tobi nodded and once again led them out of the library. But Sakura noticed right away as they left the library that Tobi was taking them a different way then they had come. "Why are we going this way?" She couldn't help but ask, "We came from the other way."

Tobi shook his head, "This way is closer to the Hoshi's room. The other way just happened to be closer to where we happened to be." Sakura noticed he was speaking quickly, but she ignored it. She also ignored the nagging sensation that Tobi wasn't telling the truth. After all, what reason would there be for him to lie to her?

They went up four flights of stairs and through a large number of hallways before they reached the first floor that had windows. At the first window they came upon, Sakura and her cousins all crowded around and soaked up the sun. Sakura looked through the window, and saw what she knew to be a training ground. Though now that she looked at it, she saw that the training ground was actually indoors; It's just that the ceiling had countless skylights, making it seem as if it was truly outside.

Seeing this, Sakura was reminded that she hadn't done any physical training since she'd been captured. She was probably getting rusty, and that wasn't a good thing when you were the Akatsuki's prisoner (for all that Yuri tried to tell her she wasn't). "Hey, Tobi?"

Tobi hurried to her side, "How can Tobi help you, Miss Sakura?"

"I'd like to go in there to train. How do we get there?"

To her surprise, she heard Tobi stutter, "T-Tobi's not s-sure Tobi's supposed to let Miss Sakura go in there." Sakura turned to look at him and he stuttered even more, "M-Miss K-Konan s-said T-Tobi's not to let M-Miss Sakura g-get hurt, and, and, M-Miss Sakura c-could get h-hurt in t-there. M-Miss Konan said-"

Tobi was interrupted by a voice that said nearby, "Its fine, Tobi." Everyone, even Tobi and Sakura, were startled by Itachi's sudden appearance. Itachi either didn't notice, or didn't care, because he walked forward until he was standing in front of Sakura.

Sakura, however, noticed that her cousins were trying to hide behind her. Then it hit her, of course they would be afraid of Itachi; after all, he'd killed their clan and kidnapped them. Sakura pushed away the thought that he had, in a way, done the same exact thing to her. She then noticed that Itachi had noticed that her Cousins were trying to hide from him.

Sakura turned to Tobi and asked quickly, before anything could happen, "Could you take them back to their room please. They need to study, and Itachi's here, so you won't be breaking your orders."

Tobi looked like he was about to deny Sakura's request, but Itachi's voice stopped him, "Do as she says, Tobi." His voice was low, dangerous, and left no room for refusal.

Sakura watched as her cousins quickly followed Tobi out of sight. Once they were gone, Sakura turned to Itachi and asked, "So, how do we get in there? I'd like to train, otherwise I'll lose my edge." Itachi didn't say anything, he just looked at her. Sakura tried not to fidget under his intense gaze.

Finally Itachi took her hand and led her through the hall until they reached a door. Without letting go of her hand, he opened the door, let them both walk in, then closed the door. Without saying anything, he led her to the middle of an open area that reminded Sakura much of the one she and Itachi used to train in behind his house.

Itachi dropped her hand and walked a little ways away from her before turning to face her. Although Itachi hadn't said a word, Sakura knew what he expected her to do. Sakura prepared to attack as she thought that it would be just like old times…only now he was older and an Akatsuki.

Sakura figured that it was most likely that Itachi was much stronger than he had been before (ok...it was a sure thing). This could turn out to be annoying, seeing as she'd barely been able to keep up with him before in their Taijutsu matches. But, looking on the bright side, she decided that this was the perfect opportunity to become stronger. She may be weak now, she decided, but if she tried hard enough, she could surely prove to the world, and more importantly, to herself, that she was strong.

It never occurred to her to think about the fact that her being able to keep up with even his thirteen-year-old self was a sign that she was already stronger than most ninja ever could dream of becoming. No, she was still seeing herself as the person Sasuke had left unconscious on a bench.

* * *

I hope you liked it. It took me from 8am to 3pm to write it (Saturday). Let me remind everyone that this is a fanfic, and that things will not be exactly as the real Naruto is.

For all that after next week I will be on fall break, I probably won't update more than I already do. This will be because I will be visiting my familly in California, so I'll probably be too busy.

Also, I've put a link on my profile to a sketch of Sakura's familly in the future if you would like to see it.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome…but why would flames even still be around this late in the story? Well, on to the pretty list!

Thanks to: Rangerette, LadySakuraForest, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Tsubasa-Angel, Quiet Moon, magickbendingdemon, xokatherine229, Sakimi1014, LaReSaKa, CosenAngel, krazykoreangurl, 43InuAsha, Mittelan, SnowSkadi, sakura-angel113, xnarutoxrocksx, chikarubunny (Don't worry, you are funny), Addi-Chan, akatsuki's hikari, chester-roxs, Gothic Saku-chan, Could-Careless, Kittibit Gaara, Hao'sAnjul, Itachi4Eva (congrats, and I hope your friend likes it), Alone in a Blizzard, yourmaster, Chibi Saku-Chan, T. E. Rankin, Jax9, Haru no hana, CrazyChancyDreams457, RyuMiko, Lucy-san, Cute-killer-Gurl, ., kibaku0nendo, Cster, dark Alley (You're very welcome!), Hatake Kai, I-Love-Akatsuki, Natsuki of the Mist x3, SpeedDemon315, Flower of the Desert, XXRedWolfXX, shadow miko, & for reviewing!


	13. Changed, Yet the Same

Disclaimer: Questions, questions, go away. Come again no other day.

**Chapter 13: Changed, Yet the Same**

Sakura sat down heavily on a boulder, trying to catch her breath. She eyed Itachi, who was watching her, as she critiqued their training session in her mind. She was worn out after many hour's worth of training, but Itachi didn't look fazed at all. She had guessed that would be the case, but it still irked her that she was so far behind him. It hadn't helped that she was now, once again, misjudging her reach.

She had gotten so used to being a very short eleven/twelve-year-old, that now she had to readjust to being fifteen and tall(er). If she had to guess, she'd estimate that due to her misjudging her reach, she had missed hitting Itachi almost nine times out of ten. Of course, even the hits she got in were easily blocked by Itachi, but that didn't surprise her. After all, without her Chakra, she wasn't as good at fighting hand to hand...not that she was ever good at it to begin with.

Another thing that had stood out to her was that Itachi never once tried to hit her. All he had done was dodge or block her attacks. He was giving her a very obvious handicap, one he hadn't even given her back in the past, and that also irked her. But she had to admit that currently she wouldn't have been able to do much if he had attacked her.

This was because she was still somewhat recovering from her light-crisis, and was thus still slower to react than she should be. She really hadn't noticed that her reaction time was slower until they'd begun fighting, because just walking around, as she had been doing before, didn't make you need lightning fast reflexes. But ninja need to be fast; a ninja who's incapable of reacting in time is a dead ninja. She'd have to work on that.

The best thing she could say about her practice today was that the longer the practice had gone, the better she had gotten. That was a good sign. She figured that in another training session or two she would probably stop misjudging her reach. And if she was lucky, by tomorrow she would be over the effects of having been away from the light for too long.

Sakura shifted her gaze up, towards the skylights. The ceiling went up two stories, probably to let all the trees that surrounded the training ground have room to grow, though how trees could live inside was beyond her. Sakura stared at the bright sky above her until she suddenly felt the need to rub her eyes. As she did so, however, she noticed that for some reason she had more Chakra than normal surrounding her eyes. She was about to probe for a reason when Itachi's voice broke through her thoughts.

"That's enough for today, Sakura." Sakura stopped rubbing her eyes and looked to find him standing right next to her. She hadn't even noticed him come up to her. So much for her being a ninja. Itachi offered her his hand as he said, "You should not push yourself too hard…" Sakura took his hand and let him help her to her feet.

This was another thing she'd have to deal with. She now was sure that she loved Itachi, and that somehow he still loved her, but she still wasn't sure what to do. For all that she loved him, she couldn't forget who and what he was. He was an S-class criminal who had nearly ended the lives of some of her closest friends and _had _ended the lives of all her family other than her three cousins. And no matter what he said, she still felt it was her fault that they were dead...and she hated it.

There was also the fact that she was sure he was still supposed to capture Naruto, though he hadn't said anything about it, and she wasn't planning to ask. Naruto was her best friend, and if he ever found out that she was being held by the Akatsuki, he would most likely come barging in without a thought about his own safety.

If that happened, he would likely die, and it would be all her fault. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if Naruto was killed by Itachi all because of her. It was bad enough having to live with the knowledge that not just one, but two clans had been massacred all because of her. She knew it was all her fault, and she hated herself for it. She still wished she'd never messed with time.

Once again Itachi's voice broke through her thoughts, "Are you planning to go to your room, or to your cousins'?"

Sakura had to pause a moment as her mind scrambled to first comprehend the question, then find an answer to it. Finally she said, "I think I'll go to my room first," she didn't add that she wanted to take a shower because she was now all sweaty, "then I'll go see my cousins."

Itachi nodded and pulled her hand, which she only just noticed was still in his, and headed for the door that led out of the training room. Itachi had just closed the door behind them when they heard footsteps coming from the direction of the staircase that Sakura and her cousins had come up over an hour ago.

Itachi started walking forward, ignoring the footsteps, but Sakura didn't move, so he couldn't go very far either. She wanted to see who was coming up the stairs, though why she wanted to know was a mystery even to her. But for some reason, something was telling Sakura that she should wait and see who was coming from the floor below them.

It didn't take long for an orange masked Akatsuki member to show himself. When he saw them he momentarily froze, then quickly hurried over to them, saying, "Tobi's done what Tobi was told to do! Tobi can now return to his duty of staying with Miss Sakura!"

Sakura smiled at Tobi's enthusiasm, it reminded her much of Naruto. The thought of Naruto was bringing back the sad feelings of before, so she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head and forced herself to find something else to think about. This is what led her to notice something that wasn't adding up in her head.

"Tobi, why were you coming up? I mean, if you were coming from my cousins room, wouldn't you have been coming down? They are staying on the first floor, and this is two floors below ground, isn't it? That would mean you were coming from the third floor below ground, not the first floor above ground. Right?"

Tobi fidgeted as he exclaimed like a child who's accused of putting off their chores to play, "Tobi did what Miss Sakura told Tobi to do!" He then said in a tone that sounded almost nervous, "Then Miss Konan had told Tobi to do something, so Tobi did it. Tobi just got done doing what Tobi was told to do, so Tobi was coming up to do Tobi's duty of helping protect Miss Sakura."

Tobi shifted from foot to foot, and Sakura couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a child rather than an Akatsuki member. She believed him, and she couldn't figure out why he was so nervous, but she felt that it may have to do with Yuri. After all, all the times he'd mentioned Yuri, he'd become nervous. Maybe he was afraid of Yuri or something like that.

Tobi looked like he was about to try and say something else, but Sakura could already tell he was getting flustered, so she quickly said, "I believe you. I was on my way to my room, so now that you're here, you can help show me the way back to my room." Sakura smiled reassuringly, and it wasn't long before they were moving again. As they walked, Itachi stayed quiet, but he never released her hand.

* * *

As Sakura walked into her cousins' room and the door closed behind her, she was immediately confronted with a very frustrated Inuka. "I read the book like you told me to," she began, "and I got what it was saying, but I didn't get what it was saying! You know what I'm saying?"

Sakura didn't get the chance to reply as Hanako's voice carried across the room from where she had been sitting, trying to meditate, "_You_ don't even get what you are saying, so why would Lady Sakura get what you are saying?"

Inuka shot back an instant, angry, reply, "What was _that_! Why, I ought'a-" Sakura quickly grabbed Inuka before she flung herself at her sister. Inuka struggled against Sakura's grip on her as she yelled, "Let me at her, let me at her!" Sakura just held on to Inuka until she calmed down enough to be released, which didn't happen until after Hanako had started meditating again.

As Sakura released Inuka she asked, "What was it you didn't understand?"

Inuka looked up at her with big eyes as she exclaimed, "I didn't understand any of it! I knew what the words meant, but I just couldn't figure out what they were trying to say! They made no sense!"

Inuka's voice had gotten louder and louder until she was now shouting. Suddenly Hanako's voice cut through her sisters wails as she spoke, her eyes still closed, "Would you be quiet? Some of us are _trying _to do our homework." This set Inuka off on another tantrum. Sakura had to hold Inuka back again, waiting for Inuka to stop shouting at her sister.

After a few minutes of Inuka's shouting and squirming, Hanako eyes sprung open and she glared at her sister in a way Sakura had never seen Hanako do, "Stop it right now Inuka. You're distressing Lady Sakura." To Sakura's surprise, Inuka instantly went quiet and stopped fighting Sakura's hold on her. As Sakura let go of Inuka, Hanako clambered from where she had been meditating and came to stand beside Inuka.

The twins looked into each others eyes for the longest time in silence. Then both of them turned to face Sakura, Inuka defeatedly and Hanako boldly. They both bowed to her, though Inuka bowed much lower than she should have. Sakura caught Inuka's quietly mumbled apology as both girls straightened up. That was another thing that she would have a hard time getting used to, the fact that her cousins always acted as if she were someone high and mighty.

Sakura shook her head ruefully as she looked around the room and found Noya sitting at a desk, reading the book she'd assigned to them. He didn't appear to have been bothered by all the commotion in the room. Sakura returned her attention to Hanako and Inuka, who were now looking up at her as if they expected her to pass out some form of punishment.

Sakura tried to smile reassuringly as she said, "Don't worry, its fine. I'm not angry." Both girls looked relieved, though Inuka still looked somewhat ashamed of having just had a temper tantrum and Hanako still looked angry at Inuka for the same reason. Sakura couldn't understand why Hanako was so upset at Inuka. It was typical for an eight-year-old to have a temper tantrum. Sakura may not have liked having to deal with said tantrum, but she understood it as being a natural part of a child's development.

Sakura moved her gaze to Inuka only as she said, "I think I know what you had been trying to say. You probably learn better from experience than from reading, don't you?" Inuka nodded her head unhappily. Sakura smiled, Inuka reminded her of Naruto too. For a moment her smile faltered, but she quickly pushed away her feelings about her friend. Now was not the time.

"Inuka, you can just do the other part of the homework assignment for today, and tomorrow I can try and help you understand by demonstration what you couldn't understand in words." Inuka looked down at her feet like she was ashamed to be needing help, so Sakura said, "Don't worry about it, you're not the first person I've had to explain things like this to."

Sakura smiled, then turned her attention to Hanako as Inuka went to find a comfy place to try and meditate. Hanako watched Inuka meditate for a while before turning to look at Sakura. In a quiet voice, too quiet for anyone but Sakura to hear, she said politely, "I apologize for my sister's behavior in respect to you, Lady Sakura. She should have known better than to go against the wishes of an elder Time Walker such as yourself."

Sakura sighed, so that was what had been eating at Hanako. "It's fine, Hanako. You needn't apologize. She's only eight…_you're_ only eight…it's normal for people your age to act first and think later, especially when powerful emotions are a part of the picture." Sakura paused, then bent down and gave the small girl a gentle hug as she whispered, "It's ok to show emotions." As Sakura pulled back she told Hanako quietly, "I'm not really all that important or powerful, so you don't need to act like I am."

Hanako opened her mouth to argue, but Sakura just put a finger to it, "I know you think otherwise, but I assure you, I'm not." Sakura stood up straight as she said gently, "Now get back to your homework. I've taken enough of your time." Hanako gave a small bow, then returned to the place she had been before and sat down.

Sakura watched the twins meditate for a number of minutes. Finally she turned her gaze to Noya, who was still absorbed in his reading. Sakura silently walked up behind him, wondering how he'd been able to ignore Inuka's loud shouting before. When she glanced over his shoulder at the book she noticed that he was far beyond the third chapter.

Sakura tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped in surprise. He quickly turned to look at her, and Sakura could tell that he hadn't even noticed her come into the room, he was that absorbed in the book. "You know you don't have to read more than the first three chapters, right?" she asked.

Noya nodded his head slowly, looking as if his mind was thinking about a hundred things at once, "It's just so interesting…some of this stuff I've never even heard about before; like 'Chakra scalpels'. Why would someone want to be able to cut someone on the inside without opening the skin? What would be the point?"

Sakura patted him on the shoulder as she answered, "One reason for using the scalpel is because it can be helpful for bringing down an opponent that you don't want to get away, but at the same time, you don't want them to be seriously injured. For instance, a while ago, in the past, I was taking this test in Konoha. During this test, I was on a team with two other women, and get this, their names were Hanako and Inuka." Sakura smiled as Noya's face showed surprise.

"We were up against another team, one of who's members was named Noya." She had to fight against laughter as Noya's jaw dropped. His mouth quickly closed as Sakura continued, "We were all Leaf ninja and thus allies, but for the test, we had to act as enemies. During the test, Noya used the Chakra scalpel against Inuka. That way she wasn't seriously injured, but at the same time, it stopped her from being able to use the arm he had cut. So you see, in a situation like that, it can be very useful."

* * *

Sakura had heard back in the past that Hoshi's were pacifistic, and she had found out from her cousins that what she had heard was true. To the Hoshi's there was nothing worse than fighting. Her cousins had told her it was because a long time ago the Hoshi clan had been sought out for their Kekkei Genkai in order for them to kill people. That was, in fact, the reason they had fled Konoha, because they were always pressured to become ninja.

With this knowledge, Sakura knew better than to tell Noya some of the more deadly uses for the Chakra scalpel. He would hate to know that something that was a form of healing could be used to kill. After all, all it would take would be a precise flick to the chest with a Chakra scalpel to stop a beating heart. All it took was precision and skill when it came to the Chakra scalpel, and with those two things, you could hold anybody's life in your bare hands. That was a very dangerous and powerful combination, but luckily it was one few people had.

A thought struck Sakura as she told Noya that he could continue reading if he wanted to and that she would see them after breakfast. As she walked down the hallway to her room, closely followed by both Itachi and Tobi, she pondered that thought. Until now she'd never thought about it, she'd never had reason to, but now that she had, it hit hard.

She had said in her mind that all it took was precision and skill with the Chakra scalpel to hold anybody's life in your bare hands. And that was true. So was it true that those who had those two things were few, dangerous, powerful, and often times important. What she had never thought of before, however, was that _she _had both of those abilities. Did that mean she was dangerous and powerful? No, she decide, especially with the fact that currently she probably wouldn't even be able to use the Chakra scalpel due to her Chakra being suppressed.

No, she wasn't powerful…or important…and how dangerous could she be if she was so easily captured in not only real life, but also in her odd visions? No, she was none of those things, and she never would be. She was weak little Sakura! The '_damsel in distress_' who always had to be rescued, who always had to rely on others to save the day. The one who always failed, the one who always got captured or used as bait…

…the one who was always left behind…

* * *

There, don't know why it got so sad at the end there; but I came back from my lunch break and WHAM, sadness! I'm updating this on Friday because I will be gone on Saturday.

I'm going to be on vacation in California from Sat 20th-the 25th, so I may not do much updating even though I have a break. Oh, and also, because of this, I won't be able to get my Emails, so I will only be able to check reviews, not PM's or 'review returns'. Just letting you know.

I'm thinking of creating a forum where people can share their ideas and thoughts about my stories, and other things like that. If you think that sounds good tell me please. whether I make this forum would depend on if anyone tells me they'ed like me to or not.

Hey, if you like the manga/anime Inuyasha (character: Sheshomaru), my friend has asked me to do some advertising for her story. It's called **Hubris**, by: ShippoTheCRAZYTREKKIE, and she would really like for someone to review, even if it was only for the first chapter (she's that desperate). So, if you could be so kind...would you please do her a favor and at least read and review her first chapter? It would make her very happy. Thank you.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, but evil rainclouds shall haunt those who even _think_ of flaming. Now, on to the _pretty list_! My only question is: Why are less and less people reviewing?

Thanks to: LaReSaKa, Flower of the Desert, LadySakuraForest, kikia-kiwi, Quiet Moon, XXRedWolfXX, magickbendingdemon, Rangerette, dark Alley, Gothic Saku-chan, Chibi Saku-Chan, sakura-angel113, Itachi4Eva (that's great!), Mittelan, SnowSkadi, S. T. Nickolian, 43InuAsha, Kittibit Gaara, .. chikarubunny (for all that was mostly a rant, it too funny not to like), krazykoreangurl, akatsuki's hikari, Jax9, Sakimi1014, Crazedchocolatefan, Tempy,xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Hao'sAnjul, xokatherine229, NightWing101 (Don't worry, I love getting long reviews.), CosenAngel, sakura, THE Hyuuga Neji, XxJeffsRosexX, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (I'm glad you're back), CrazyChancyDreams457, Sui-chan, luckiducki23, yourdarkdesire, Ilse Montague (I'm sorry, but the link didn't come through...), Hatake Kai, & Alone in a Blizzard (thanks, I hope you had a good trip) for reviewing!


	14. Memories and Dreams

Disclaimer: Don't you dare complaine about it being short! (You should be happy you got a chapter at all while I was on vacation!)

**Chapter 14: Memories and Dreams**

That night Sakura laid on her bed, just staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. The room was pitch black, so Sakura couldn't see anything, but she didn't care at the moment. All day she had been pushing back thoughts of Naruto and her other friends, but now she couldn't push them away anymore. Memories of her friends were flinging themselves at her, demanding to be noticed.

Sakura fought to hold back tears as her friends filled her mind. She missed them, and she was worried about them. If her visions were true, and she was somehow certain that they were, then Konoha had really been attacked by Sound and was now in bad shape. She could only hope that her friends were alive…but what if they weren't? What if someone had died all because she hadn't been there to save them?

She wished she could go to Konoha, see her friends, make sure that everyone and everything was ok…but she knew that was an impossible wish. The Akatsuki would never let her go to Konoha, she knew that, and she knew she wouldn't be able to escape, not with her Chakra being suppressed like it was. Beyond being physically unable to escape, she wasn't sure that her emotions would allow her to escape either.

That was possibly the worst thought because it made her wonder…did loving an Akatsuki member automatically make her a traitor? She didn't want to betray Konoha. Konoha was her home, and she loved it as well as the people in it. She wanted to protect the people of Konoha, but did loving Itachi mean she was putting them in greater danger? Was there anything she could do or say to both protect Konoha _and _to allow her to love Itachi, or would she have to eventually choose between the two? She wasn't sure she _could _choose, if it came to that.

And what of her friends? Would they hate her for loving him? It wasn't like she could control it or stop it…she had tried, after all, and she had failed miserably. Would her friends understand that, or would they condemn her on sight? And what would happen to Naruto? Naruto was her best friend, and in a way, he was like a brother to her…but if the Akatsuki got a hold of him, he would surely die for the sake of the demon inside of him. Was there anything she could possibly do to stop that from happening? She wouldn't be able to live with herself if Naruto--

Sakura pushed her face into a pillow so that the sound of her crying wouldn't be heard. It was all just too much for her to hold back. The tears were forcing themselves from her eyes and sobs were breaking away from her, no matter how hard she tried to keep them inside.

She hated this…she hated being so weak. Why was it that she could never do anything right? Why was it that her mere existence brought pain, suffering, and even death, to those she cared about? Was this luck, or destiny, or fate, or whatever it was's way of telling her it hated her?

She hated this! If only there was a way…if only she wasn't so weak…then maybe she could help people…save people…rather than hurt them. She wished with all her heart that she were stronger…strong enough to save Naruto from the Akatsuki, to save Sasuke from Sound and from himself, to save Konoha from destruction…to save herself…from more heartbreak.

Sakura scoffed into her pillow, then broke into another sob. Who was she kidding? She was weak…she'd never be strong…at least, not that strong. She never could be of any help, and she never was strong, that was just the cold hard facts of the matter. But, as Sakura pressed her face into the pillow to muffle her sobs, she couldn't help but wish one more time, if only to give herself hope and to say she'd done so.

She wished, as her sobs quieted and a blanket of sleep wrapped around her, that she would be able to do something about this 'unofficial war', as her great-grandmother had called it. She wished that she could do something to bring this 'war' to an end that hurt the least amount of people in the process…

_

* * *

_

_Sakura just walked, not knowing where she was going or where she had begun. But she knew that she had to find whatever she was looking for. It was important, whatever it was, and it was calling her. Sakura took first one corner than another, then she went through a door, then she went down some stairs. The whole way, Sakura had no clue as to where she was, everything looked the same, and nothing looked familiar._

_It continued like that for an unknowable amount of time. Sakura was beyond lost, but she kept on walking. Sakura had just past her sixth stairwell going upwards when it hit Sakura that she knew where she was now. Well…she didn't _know _where she was, but she recognized it, she had been here before._

_Sakura's pace quickened as she searched harder for whatever it was she needed to find. She knew she was currently two floors below ground, and if her guess was right, she was looking for a staircase leading downwards. It took a number of hallways to finally find a staircase that went down. But as Sakura had guessed, this was the stairwell she had been looking for._

_Sakura hurried down the stairs, then continued on her way, turning here, going through there. Moving, moving, constantly moving, faster and faster. Then she was running full out, desperate to find what she was looking for, her heart beating a mile a minute. Suddenly everything went still as Sakura stopped running. She had reached her destination._

_It was a door, a door that looked the same as every other single door she had seen. But somehow she knew it was not the same…it was what she had been looking for. It was…the same door that had 'called' to her before, but this time the call was so…loud….it almost seemed audible. But it wasn't audible…she wasn't hearing it with her ears; she was hearing it with something else._

_Sakura's hand slowly approached the door's handle. Hadn't the door been locked before? Why was she reaching for it now, knowing it would be locked? It didn't seem to matter that she didn't know why, because her hand continued it's forward crawling pace. The slowness of her approach was almost unbearable. She just wanted to get this over with. _

_She knew the door was locked, so why was she making such a big deal about reaching for this doors' handle? Finally her hand reached the handle. She felt something that she couldn't explain happening to her, or maybe it was happening to everything _but _her. Either way, something was happening and it bothered her. _

_Sakura forced her hand to press down on the handle…why was she even doing this when she knew it was locked? The handle quivered under her hand, as if fighting to hold still and failing horribly. Then the handle began to move and the odd sensation intensified. Suddenly the handle had been turned to the point that Sakura knew it wasn't locked. But it had been locked before, so why wasn't it now?_

_She didn't know, but it didn't matter. What was important right now was to open the door. Sakura pressed her weight against the door as a sense of urgency rushed through her. She had to open the door, she just had to, if she didn't--_

_The door opened, and--_

* * *

Sakura shot up in bed. Her hand flew to her racing heart. She hadn't had a dream like that for a while…but it had been different than any she'd had before too. It had been closer to a real dream than to one of her vision-dreams. Maybe it had really just been a dream, a normal, everyday, really confusing and pointless dream. 

Sakura laid back down in the pitch black room and tried to get back to sleep, but her heart was still pounding. Now that she thought of it, why was her heart pounding? It's not like the dream had been scary or anything like that. In fact, if her heart hadn't been beating like crazy, she'd probably have said that the dream had really been boring. After all, all that had happened was her walking around trying to find a door, and that after she found it, she didn't even get to see what was behind it.

So why was her heart pounding? Sakura took calming breaths and let her body relax. As her heartbeat slowed, Sakura noticed for the first time that she didn't feel a hint of fear. But if she wasn't afraid, then why had her heart gone haywire like that? This really wasn't making any sense.

As her heart rate returned to normal, Sakura closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her. Her mind returned to the dream. Why had she dreamt about that door? It's true the door had interested her for some reason when she'd seen it, but it had been locked and that had been that. Was this a sign that she needed to know what was behind that door?

Probably not. It had just been a dream, nothing more. She could debate her dream in the morning, if she even remembered it, but for now she should sleep. As Sakura let sleep begin to take over, one last thought crossed her mind. Even if it had only been a dream…there was something about that door…

* * *

I know it's short, but I didn't want to get off the subject, so I had to end it there...so don't whine (at least you got a chapter). 

Not many people voted for or against the forum, so I guess I'll make it (with two to one votes in favor). It will be called: **Circles**.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome...flames will be shot down by a water gun. Now on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Could-Careless, Mittlan, Quiet Moon, chikarubunny (I still love how long your reviews are), magicbendingdemon, ItachEvai, XxPinkCherryBlossoms, Sakimi1014, Jax9, Jahannah12, CosenAngel, borisbear, xMissxPepperx (thank you for the long review), xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, kikia-kiwi, SnowSkadi, sakura-angel113, xokatherine229, Sage Phoneix, krazykoreangurl, Hao'sAnjul, bubblyum, Chibi Saku-Chan, Flower of the Desert (well, happy birthday late.), akatsuki's hikari, Gothic Saku-chan, Selene98, Lucy-san, Isle Montague, LadySakuraForest, chole, I-Love-Akatsuki, 43InuAsha, shadow miko, Kittibit Gaara, luckiducki23 (I thank you for reviewing every one of my chapters, that makes me so happy), kibaku0nendo, SekhemetDaCat, & Snow Wing for reviewing!


	15. Not Quite What You Expect

Disclaimer: Hello! Are you ready for more of the me-not-telling-you-what-you-really-want-to-know-and-instead-of-giving-you-answers,-I-give-you-more-questions?

**Chapter 15: Not Quite What You Expect**

As Sakura entered her cousins' room that morning, she was once again quickly ushered in and the door was once again quickly closed. Sakura allowed herself to be pulled over to a bed as Hanako said, "Please sit, Lady Sakura." Sakura did so as Hanako took a step back and bowed to her along with the other two.

It was Noya who spoke next, "We would like to thank you for being willing to teach us about healing. If you would like, we could begin to repay you by teaching you some Hoshi techniques."

Sakura smiled, "I'd love to learn some new techniques…but you don't have to think of it as repayment. Really, I don't mind teaching you guys, and I don't mind you teaching me either." All three of her cousins just shook their head's, but didn't say anything. Hanako and Inuka scrambled up to sit on either side of Sakura while Noya came to stand in front of her.

Noya began, "Other than our Walking, there are other things that only Hoshi's can do." He paused, then said thoughtfully, "Here's an example: You know of the hand signs that are required for most jutsu; they take both hands, and they are put together different ways to channel Chakra in order to do different things. Hoshi's can use these hand signs as well as the next person for every-day jutsu, but Hoshi's have their own form of jutsu."

"'Hoshijutsu', if you will, differs from ninjutsu, genjutsu, and the like, in one major way: Hoshijutsu doesn't use the standard hand signs…and obviously it can only be used by Hoshi's. Hoshijutsu does technically use hand signs, but they differ greatly from the normal jutsu hand signs. For one, they normally only take one hand to do, for another, they don't necessarily have to be done by the hand. You can use your arm, or your leg, or just a finger or a toe. I've even heard of some who could do so by moving their eyes alone…though I've never seen it done."

"The reason that the Hoshi hand signs can be done by body parts other than the hand is due to how simple they are. They are more movements than signs, and different movements cause different things…"

As Noya spoke, Sakura remembered her encounter with her great-grandmother back in the past. The old Hoshi had made hand signs that sounded like what Noya was describing. She had also said something about Itachi not being able to copy or escape them because he wasn't a Hoshi. Now, what had she done exactly that had made Itachi freeze?

As Sakura tried to concentrate on the hand movements that she had seen her great-grandmother use, Noya's voice seemed to drift away. As she concentrated on those signs, she felt as if she had met resistance, but this was her own mind, and she wasn't going to be kept from concentrating on whatever she wanted to concentrate on. She met the resistance with her own might, and before long it gave under her mental pressure. It was still there, but it was now bending under her will, instead of going against it.

Her cousins' startled gasps made her return to reality. As her eyes focused again, she saw Noya was pulling at his hand, but it remained suspended in the air as if he were holding it there, though he obviously wasn't. He tried to pull at it a few more times, then he turned to look at her. It was then that she noticed that the Twins were staring at her as well. Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but nothing happened. What was going on? Why were they staring at her?

Then it hit her as she looked from Noya to the twins on either side of her that she wasn't moving her head, yet she was able to see everything as if she had. That could only mean one thing; she was using her Kekkei Genkai. Sakura quickly looked at Noya, and as she stared at him, she noticed a faint glow surrounding his hand that she hadn't noticed before.

As she continued to stare at Noya's hand, she heard one of the twins' voice say, "This is a binding spell!" There was a pause, then the same voice, though Sakura figured it was the other twin, said, "But how could she do a binding spell, a _successful _binding spell, when she didn't even know about our hand signs? How could she not only use the right signs, but also make it work without ever having tried it before? It's impossible."

Then Sakura heard Noya speak as she continued to stare at his hand, "Whether it's impossible or not, that is the case." He paused, and as he did so, something about the look of the glow changed in Sakura's sight. There were now patterns that surrounded the glow, floating on its surface like a leaf on water. As Sakura studied those patterns, Noya continued, "There's no way any of us can undo this, it's too powerful a spell…only she can undo it."

One of the twins' voices then said, "That's true…but I don't think she can even hear or see us right now." That startled Sakura, though her eyes never left the marks that were swirling faster and faster around Noya's glowing hand. Of course she could hear and see them, why wouldn't she?

The twin's voice continued, "I mean, look at her eyes…they're all over the place," What did that mean? She was looking at Noya's arm, and she had been for a while now. The twin continued, "not to mention that they're blue, like ours, now. She's probably lost herself in another time…it's not like she knows how to use her Eyes properly. After all, she never learned." As the twin took a breath, Sakura got the idea that this twin was Inuka, "But what are we going to do!? Only she can undo it, but she doesn't even know what she's done because she's not seeing or hearing us!"

The other twin (Hanako, Sakura was sure) said, "It's not like her being able to hear us would help. None of us know the movements necessary to do, let alone to undo, the binding spell…" There was worry hidden in the voice, but Sakura couldn't tear her eyes from the marks that covered Noya's glowing hand. The marks were moving faster now than before, but for some reason, they were just as easy, if not easier to read, as when they had barely been moving.

Sakura followed the marks closely with her eyes, trying not to miss a beat of their wild frenzy of movement. Then suddenly, as she finished watching what she believed to be a complete 'set' of movements, there was a 'pop'. She watched as the marks suddenly flung themselves from Noya's no-longer-glowing hand, only to instantly evaporate. What came next was more of a 'wham' than a 'pop'. Sakura had no time to brace herself as she was thrown out of her Kekkei Genkai forcefully, though by what force, she didn't know.

Sakura blinked just as she saw Noya move his previously ensnared hand. Three sets of eyes drilled into her, but no one made a sound. Suddenly Sakura felt a slight pain in her chest as dizziness beset her. She let her head dip down as she moved her hands up to hold her head. For a few moments, she felt as if a great pressure laid on her, forcing her down, but that soon dissipated, as did the pain in her chest. But the dizziness wasn't so easily discarded.

* * *

Yuri stalked more so than walked through the hallway. She wasn't very happy right now, not in the least. She had just gotten done talking with Master and Pein… 

_Yuri closed the door behind her as she entered the room. Pein was there, as she knew he would be, and before him stood the hologram of the Master. She hadn't been expecting that. She straightened her posture even more than it already was as she walked up to the hologram. As protocol demanded, she bowed to the hologram before she did anything else._

_The fact that Pein had not informed her that this meeting would be including their Master irked her, not that she showed it. She kept her face bland as she went to stand beside Pein, but she decided that once their Master had gone, she would give him an earful. He should have known better than to make her walk into a meeting unaware of whom she'd be meeting with. The fact that it was their Master just doubled, if not tripled, the audacity of Pein's lack of informing her that she'd be meeting with anyone other than him!_

_But there was nothing she could do about that now. She was here, and it was now time to listen to whatever their Master had to talk about. Yuri listened as Master simply gave them their orders, as was typical of his rare appearances. What had she expected?_

_The Master had just breached the subject of the nine-tailed fox when suddenly he stopped speaking. Yuri heard him cuss under his breath, then he said that he had to take care of something, and that he would finish their talk later. Then the hologram wavered and vanished, leaving Yuri alone with Pein._

_Yuri turned to Pein and opened her mouth, ready to chastise him for not having warned her. But Pein locked her in his gaze and said in a dangerously low voice, "Don't even start." Yuri was frozen under the power of his gaze as he continued, "We both know why I didn't tell you…" He then turned to look at the place where their Master's hologram had stood, allowing Yuri to relax as his powerful gaze was removed from her._

_Yuri forced herself to remain emotionless at his words. The fact that he'd said she knew, meant that her guess had unluckily been correct. But how dare he not tell her just because of _that_. He should have known better…Yuri had to force herself not to grit her teeth. He _did _know better…he just didn't care…and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She'd just have to grin and bear it, like always._

_Pein turned back to look at her. His gaze was still powerful, but it was a different power now than the power that had just frozen her in place. But the power behind his eyes now was no more welcome than the power of before. The fact that he was looking at her like that was enough to let her know what was coming… He took a step forward, but just then the Master's hologram reappeared, and Yuri was saved, at least momentarily. _

_But it was all too soon that the Master's hologram disappeared again, this time for good, and the subject returned to what it had been._

Their 'discussion' had turned into their typical argument. Things had gone down hill from there as the argument took its natural course. Everything had happened just as it always had and probably always would. But today's argument had been worse because she had already been angry with Pein before the argument broke out.

Normally she stayed silent during this particular argument, but today she hadn't been able to hold her tongue completely silent. That was a very stupid mistake. How had she forgotten that speaking out was worse than remaining silent in that situation? Well, one way or the other, Pein's reaction had reminded her, but by then it was too late. _Way _too late.

Yuri slowed down her pace as she neared the hall that would lead to where she knew Sakura to be. Before she reached the turn off, she made triply sure that her face showed nothing that she didn't want to be seen. She wasn't worried about Tobi or the Hoshi threesome, she knew they wouldn't be able to read her, but Itachi and Sakura were a different story all together. If she didn't hide all her agitation, they would undoubtedly catch on.

Itachi probably wouldn't care, but Sakura would, and Itachi would back her if she wanted to know what was wrong. She could always escape Sakura's questioning by saying it wasn't something she could tell, but then Itachi would want to know; if only because he would want to know what was so 'secret' that she would be willing to make Sakura unhappy, as would undoubtedly be the case if she shot down Sakura's question.

The best way to avoid that situation was to not let her true emotions be read in the first place. Besides, she had information for Sakura that would probably make her happy, and she wanted Sakura to be happy. Sakura was the closest thing to a daughter that she knew she'd ever have. After all, the man she loved was beyond her reach…and though there was one person she knew 'loved' her, she could never love him in return. She may like him…after all, in a way they _were _friends…but she could never love him.

* * *

Sakura smiled as she said as reassuringly as she could for the umpteenth time, "Yes, I'm sure I'm fine." Inuka opened her mouth, and Sakura knew she would ask yet again, 'are you sure you're sure?' so Sakura quickly interrupted, "I may not know what happened, but I do know I'm fine, so let's leave it at that." Inuka opened her mouth again anyways, but this time Hanako's hand covered it. 

Sakura sat back and watched as Inuka and Hanako got into yet another of their tiffs, and then as Noya came in to play peacekeeper. Her thoughts wandered back to what had happened. It had been so odd…she had told her cousins what she'd Seen after the dizziness had left her. They had understood when she'd said that she'd seen the afflicted hand glowing. Apparently any awakened Hoshi could see when a jutsu was in use if they looked at it while having activated their 'Eyes'. But they had no clue as to what the marks had been that she'd seen.

"Why do I have to be the one to See weird things like that…?" Sakura didn't even know she'd said it out loud until the room went silent. All three of her cousins stopped what they had been doing and instantly surrounded her, asking questions all at the same time. Of course, it was Inuka's voice that stood out due to it's being much louder than necessary.

"What other weird things have you Seen?" Sakura heard the sound of the door opening, but apparently Inuka didn't, because she continued, "What is it, Lady Sakura?! Tell us!" Sakura looked over her cousins' heads and saw Yuri standing in the open doorway. Inuka's gaze must have followed hers, because she then exclaimed, while pointing a finger at Yuri, "It's Miss Konan--OW!" Hanako had hit Inuka…and their catfight began all over again with cry's of 'What was that for?!', 'Because you're an idiot.', and '-sigh- there they go again…'

Sakura disentangled herself from her cousins and walked over to Yuri, "So, what is it?"

* * *

There…yet another evil cliffhanger! MwaHaHaHaH-- cough--cough-- 

Sorry about that…blame Wolf-chan…oh, and I'd like to remind people that I have created a forum called **Circles**...and if enough people use/read it, I may very well put up hints on there that no one else would get. I put a link up to it on my profile...it makes it easier to find that way (it took me forever to find my own forum...how sad is that!)

Also, if you can, I would suggest that you listen to the song 'Twisted', from Carrie Underwoods new CD...I think it fits Sakura from my story very well (just a sugestion though).

Oh, and if you flame, Wolf-chan will throw you off a real cliff…but as long is it's only nice reviews and/or constructive criticism, you won't be in any danger. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Could-Careless, Jax9, LilBitzer, luckiducki23, CosenAngel, krazykoreangurl, Rangerette, Crazedchocolatefan, animal.cracker.assassinator (aww, why thank you), sakura-angel113, magickbendingdemon, Quiet Moon, Selene98, Sakimi1014, akatsuki's hikari, Hao'sAnjul (I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I'm working on getting action in there), xokatherine229 (actually, I posted it right _before_ I left for the airport), White Wolf Pheonix, chikarubunny (oh, believe me, I am honored), LadySakuraForest (Harry Potter? how did you get de'ja vu about that from this?), I-Love-Akatsuki, kikia-kiwi, Kittibit Gaara, shadow miko, YAMIxITACHIxUCHIHA (I'm glad you came back...though you shouldn't have quit in the first place (I forgive you), and don't worry about just finding out how to review, you're not the first), Anilmathiel Greenleaf (mostly it was all in the clan, few Hoshi's ever left the village), SnowSkadi (I love it when people guess right, and I love it when people guess wronge...I won't tell you which of those you are however), Itachi4Eva (Yes, I do practice the art of cliffhangers, I'm so glad you noticed!), NightWing101, Gothic Saku-chan, shadowfox908 (You're the second person to conect this to Harry Potter, but I don't see the conection!), 43InuAsha, xMissxPepperx (well, what can I say, it was a chapter about a door, so of course the word 'door' would come up often), XXRedWolfXX, Hatake Kai, Taki-kun (very funny review!), tonnora, dark Alley, Kinomi-chan, SpeedDemon315, CrimsonKunoichi, Sui-chan, & Ellena.x for reviewing!


	16. Surprises

Disclaimer: cliffhanger…**Wolf-chan**: what she means to say is that she doesn't own any of these characters. **JUCHKO**: WAIT A MINUTE! I do own some of these characters! **Wolf-chan**: fine. You only own Inuka, Noya, Hanako, Master and a few random no-namers.** JUCHKO**: That's correct! And don't you forget it! **Wolf-chan**: Yes ma'am. **JUCHKO**: -nods head-

**Chapter 16: Surprises**

_Sakura disentangled herself from her cousins and walked over to Yuri, "So, what is it?"_

Yuri didn't answer right away, but when she did, it was calmly and quietly, "We have been ordered by our Master," Yuri paused as Inuka, who had been running away from the now angry Hanako, tripped and ran into Sakura. After Sakura had righted Inuka and everyone had calmed down, Yuri continued, "As I was saying…our Master has ordered that you four be allowed outside once a week…to make sure that you stay healthy."

For a moment everyone was silent, then suddenly all three of Sakura's cousins were talking at once. Sakura, on the other hand, stayed silent as thoughts and questions buzzed loudly in her head. Why would Yuri's 'Master' care whether her and her cousins were healthy or not? Maybe he did, but she doubted it…maybe this was a test of some sort? Were they trying to see if Sakura would be desperate enough to try to escape?

She wasn't that stupid. She knew that without the use of her Chakra she would be easily captured again. And there would be no way for her to save her cousins even if she were able to escape, because there would be no way they would be able to escape with her…and there was no way she'd leave her cousins among the Akatsuki while she escaped. So unless something extraordinary happened, there wouldn't even be a glimmer of hope for escape. Beyond that…

Sakura was brought back to the present when Yuri began speaking over the clatter of Sakura's cousins voice's. Sakura noticed that her hand was clutching her necklace as Yuri said loudly, "Quiet!" It worked, Sakura's cousins instantly shut their mouths and looked at Yuri as if she were a very upset teacher. During this time, Sakura brought her hand back to her side. Yuri's voice returned to its normal, almost monotone, level, "That's better…keep it that way."

Yuri turned her gaze on Sakura, and though Yuri was giving her a small smile, Sakura got the feeling that Yuri wasn't in a good mood right now. Yuri spoke in a crisp, no-nonsense voice, "I will be in charge of these outings. They will happen once a week as long as the weather permits…" Yuri paused, then added, "and as long as we don't receive any uninvited guests…so to speak."

"If someone were to attack, you will immediately return to the safety of your room, understood?" Sakura and her cousins nodded, Yuri continued, "Good…though I doubt anything like that will happen." Yuri paused, then said, "When we leave on our trips out-of-doors, you will stay within sight of either myself, Deidara, or Tobi at all times…" she paused yet again, this time as if she was debating with herself whether or not to add something. Finally she said, "You will not be seeing Itachi or Kisame during these trips due to them…patrolling…the surrounding area."

As Yuri's voice trailed off the room was quiet for a second, then the twins started asking questions (loudly) both at once. Sakura noticed that Yuri looked like she was about to snap, so Sakura put a hand on the twins' arms, silencing them as she asked carefully, "When will this happen?"

As was typical, Yuri waited before answering, "I was planning to do so later today." Sakura noticed, as she had before, that Yuri was speaking only to her, as if her cousins didn't even exist. "If there is any specific time you'd wish to go out at or anything you'd like to be brought out, I can try to arrange it…within reason of course."

Sakura thought a moment, and finally she decided that it didn't matter why Yuri's 'Master' was doing this, all that mattered was that it was a chance for her and her cousins to go outside. Her next thought made her smile. She walked past her cousins and up to Yuri, to whom she whispered her thoughts. Yuri nodded and said, "I will see to it, Miss Haruno. Make sure that you and your cousin's are ready at that time then." Yuri promptly left the room without even saying goodbye.

Once the door closed behind Yuri, Inuka almost shouted, "We're going outside!" She then took Hanako's hands and started running around in circles happily, not noticing that she was practically dragging her sister. Hanako on the other hand looked like she was trying not to get angry with Inuka. Sakura watched as Noya stepped in and made Inuka let go of Hanako, and then he helped Hanako stand up. By that time, Inuka was bouncing around the room, ignoring Hanako's glare as she continued gleefully shouting, "We get to go outside! YAY!"

Finally Inuka came to a stop in front of Sakura; Sakura figured it was more because of Noya's ordering her to calm down _or else_ (he didn't specify or else _what_) than Inuka's tiring out. As Inuka came to a stop, Hanako and Noya came to stand beside her and Noya asked politely, "When will be going outside, Lady Sakura?" Sakura noticed Inuka open her mouth to say something only to be elbowed in the ribs by Hanako. This started a glaring contest, but luckily that's all that happened.

Sakura answered evasively, "Not for a while still." Noya just nodded, as did Hanako, but of course Inuka wasn't satisfied with that answer, so she started playing twenty questions…only she never gave Sakura a chance to answer. When Inuka took a breath between her questioning, Sakura quickly interceded, "It's a secret, Inuka. You'll just have to wait." It took another ten minutes and Noya's chiding for Inuka to quit asking questions and complaining.

* * *

After everything and everyone calmed down, the subject somehow returned to the incident that had just happened a little while ago. Inuka then remembered what Sakura had said about 'seeing weird things' and questioned her about it as Hanako and Noya crowded in to listen to whatever Sakura might have to say. 

First Sakura told them the more detailed version of what she'd seen after she'd accidentally 'frozen' Noya's hand. Next she told then about the dreams she had had in the past. The twins told her that those dreams had been a mixture of her unknowingly Dream Walking and The Scroll of the Circle giving her visions of what all she was missing back in her own time. Next she told them about the eclipse and what she'd seen.

It was Noya who explained that during eclipses all awakened Hoshi Saw what had already happened in their life and sometimes even things that _could_ happen in their lives. Apparently this was the closest thing to Time Walking that non-Time Walkers would ever See, but even for Time Walkers it was a treat, because most Time Walkers could see very little of the future. The twins said that their father could only See a couple of months ahead normally, but that during eclipses, he had seen as far as five years ahead.

After that was explained to her, Sakura told them the visions she'd had after she'd been captured in as much detail as she could remember. When she finished, her cousins stayed abnormally quiet, just looking from her to each other and back again. It was a long while before Noya broke the eerie silence by clearing his throat.

When he spoke, his voice was almost inaudible, "I've never heard of something quiet like that…" he trailed off for a moment before he spoke again, this time somewhat louder, though still extremely quiet, "I don't think that should even be possible…though it may just have been a well kept Time Walker secret…I don't know..." He turned to Hanako and asked, "What do you think? Have you ever heard of anything like that before?"

Hanako shook her head, but she must have been unsure, for next she said after a long pause, "I have, yet at the same time I haven't." For once Inuka nodded her head in agreement rather than make noise about that not really being an answer. After another short pause, Hanako continued softly, appearing to be deep in thought, "It sounds almost exactly like how our father described Seeing the future."

"He said that you start at one point, then you follow all the different possible paths of how the future could happen…but there's something wrong with what Lady Sakura has described…but I just cant seem to put my finger on it…" Hanako's face scrunched up in concentration as she muttered quietly to herself, "It was almost exactly like father said…"

Suddenly Inuka gasped, then hurried to whisper something in Hanako's ear. As Inuka whispered, the color drained out of Hanako's skin. When Inuka finished what she had been saying, Hanako then whispered something in return to Inuka. When Hanako turned to face Sakura again, both she and Inuka were stark white.

Hanako spoke first in a very small voice that almost trembled, "There were _two _things off about your vision…" she trailed off and Inuka picked it up where Hanako'd left off, their voices however sounded exactly the same, right down to the almost tremor.

"The thing I noticed was the fact that you Saw yourself…that just doesn't happen. Time Walkers can't See their own future, it's not supposed to be possible…" Sakura noticed that as Inuka said this, Noya started to turn pale as well. Inuka continued, "Time Walkers can See their past and their present, but never their future, not unless they're looking at an eclipse."

After a lengthy pause, Hanako took over, "But that brings us to another thing that just doesn't add up…your vision went against the third Law of Time: The future is not set _until _the deciding action is made. That means that after the action is made, there is only one possible future…it just doesn't add up…" the last part was said more to herself than to Sakura.

After another pause, Hanako continued, "Your vision, you said you had it _after_ you were caught…but that it showed you…how things _could _have gone otherwise…that just shouldn't be possible. The deciding action had already been made, you were already caught…so you shouldn't have seen anything like that because, well…because it's _just not possible_!"

After that Sakura and her cousins started to argue about what it could have meant. Well, mostly it was Sakura's cousins who argued and Sakura who listened attentively to their very informative argument. In the end the only thing that they could come up with was that it must have to do with something that was a Time Walkers secret.

Sakura looked at the clock and saw that they still had a little while before Yuri would come, and since they had nothing better to do, Sakura decided to test her cousins on their reading assignment, though she made sure to ask Inuka only the easiest questions, since Inuka had said she didn't understand what the book had said. She also hoped that in hearing Noya and Hanako's answers, Inuka might begin to understand somewhat better.

After she had asked the questions over the homework, she turned to Noya and, knowing he'd read ahead, questioned him on what he'd read. It turned out that Noya had read the book through twice already and couldn't wait to read 'volume two'. After Sakura was sure that he had understood everything he'd read, she turned to the other part of their homework.

* * *

They finished just as a knock came at the door, soon followed by the door opening to reveal Yuri. "Miss Haruno," she paused and looked at Sakura's cousins, but didn't acknowledge them as she continued blankly, "it is time." Sakura's eyes flew to the clock and saw that it was twelve O'clock sharp. 

Of course it was Inuka who suddenly asked, "It's time for _what,_ Miss Konan?" Sakura had a feeling that Yuri wouldn't answer, but in the end she didn't have to because Inuka apparently looked around Yuri, out into the hallway, at Tobi, who was carrying a large picnic basket, and suddenly she exclaimed at the top of her lungs, "We're going on a picnic!"Sakura laughed as Inuka started jumping up and down in excitement.

After Inuka started to calm down, Sakura noticed that both Noya and Hanako looked overjoyed at the idea of a picnic as well. That made Sakura even happier, because she had been hoping her cousins would like it. That is, after all, why she suggested it in the first place.

As Sakura and her cousins exited the room they saw that Tobi wasn't the only one waiting outside the room for them. The blond Akatsuki member, Deidara, was there as well, looking very…grumpy. Yuri led the way down the hall and Deidara and Tobi took the rear so that Sakura and her cousins were walking between them.

As they walked, Sakura listened to her cousins' talk about things like what they wanted to do when they got outside. Sakura, however, didn't enter the conversation. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Sakura took a quick glance back, and of course she saw both Tobi and Deidara looking ahead, and then at her when they noticed she was looking back at them. Sakura gave a small smile and returned her gaze to in front of her.

When she had looked back, she had noticed that Deidara had been glaring at her until she had looked back, and then he had pretended like he hadn't been. That was probably why she'd felt like someone was watching her, but why was he glaring at her? Then it hit her, he had been Sasori's partner, and she had killed Sasori…so he probably wasn't too happy with her.

'_Great_,' she thought as Yuri led them through a maze of hallways, '_one of the people who are supposed to be, quote unquote: protecting me, has a grudge against me. That's probably not a good thing…but that _is _just my luck._' Sakura repressed a sigh as she felt 'glare daggers' boring into her.'_Why does luck, or fate, or whatever it is hate me?_' Of course, she got no answer.

Sakura was brought out of her reprieve when Yuri came to a halt in front of yet another door that looked the exact same as every other door. She turned to face everyone and said in a monotone voice, "Remember, if anything happens, Miss Haruno is to be brought back immediately." With that she turned back around and opened the door to outside.

Yuri went through first, then Sakura's cousin's rushed through, almost getting stuck in the doorway because they tried to get through all at the same time. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's antics as she walked through the door. As soon as her foot crossed the threshold something happened that stopped Sakura in her tracks.

Sakura hadn't even known she'd collapsed until she felt her knees hit the ground; she was too preoccupied with the pain that was searing through her, straight to her heart.

* * *

There…Wolf-chan says she hates where I ended this…but I love where I ended it! Go cliffhangers! (oh, and thanks for all the cyber food you've handed out...it was hapilly recieved) 

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome but flames will enjoy Wolf-chan's wrath…well…maybe _enjoy_ isn't the best word …well, anyhoo, onto the _pretty list_! (Wahhhh…Wolf-chan's messing with my spelling of anyhoo!) **Wolf-chan**: I'm your editor, deal with it. **JUCHKO**: -sticks out tongue- I could fire you…I _am_ your boss…but I'm also your best-friend so…I guess I'll keep you…for now… **Wolf-chan**: …hmph. –leaves- **JUCHKO**: -calling after- You always have to have the last word, don't you?...Wait…don't answer that. –Turns back to the readers- Ok…this time we're really going onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: bubbleyum (No, Haku wasn't. You have to remember that his were real hand signs, while Hoshi's are more like movements than sighns), Rangerette, SnowSkadi (I can't really say much to your veiw, because...well...I could end up telling you somthing I shouldn't), Quiet Moon (oh, defenatly...though sometimes I'd say it would be more _deadly_ than troublesome), sakura-angel113, shadow miko, shadowfox908, LadySakuraForest, Selene98, Sakimi1014, Mittelan, animal.cracker.assassinator, LaReSaKa, Crazedchocolatefan, Jax9, MoonIdiot (it's ok, I don't mind listening to people vent..), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (It's ok, you are forgiven for not reviewing, I understand), krazykoreangurl, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, xokatherine229 (my trip was fine, thanks), chikarubunny (I think you must have been hyper, becaue you confused me...but that's ok, I got the jist of it...I think...), Could-Careless, Kittibit Gaara, Itachi4Eva (I just gave you a worse cliffy than last chapter!), akatsuki's hikari, luckiducki23, magickbendingdemon, Kinomi-chan, NightWing101, DragonMaster Reborn, aznkitty180, chrissy, Alone in a Blizzard (yes, that idea _was_ very disturbing. As to answering questions...you should know that if I answer one question, I'll make sure to leave you with at least two new questions...that's just the way I am), White Wolf Pheonix, xMissxPepperx (I wish I could watch it or read it on the net, but I'm afraid that my computer is stupid and won't let me do things like that. So the farthest I'v seen is what's shown on Toonami...though the next issue of Shonen Jump said it will be begining after the time skip!), Gothic Saku-chan, I-Love-Akatsuki, dark Alley, Hao'sAnjul, Taki-kun (Yes, it was funny, and it was funny once again. I thank you for the laugh (which I really needed after having done nothing but school work for +12 hours)), YAMIxITACHIxUCHIHA (I'm glad you agree), 43InuAsha, CosenAngel, & Aishiteru Aizen (don't worry, it wasn't confusing at all, and yes, you were pretty close to the meanng of A continuous circle, so great job!), for reviewing!


	17. Gone Yet Not Gone

Disclaimer: If you've gotten this far in the story, you must be able to read. Now tell me, what is that little underlined word, and what does it mean?

**Chapter 17: Gone Yet Not Gone**

_Sakura hadn't even known she'd collapsed until she felt her knees hit the ground; she was too preoccupied with the pain that was searing through her, straight to her heart._

The pain seemed uncomfortably familiar, but currently Sakura was a little preoccupied with said pain to find out why it was familiar. For countless moments, Sakura felt as if a kunai was being twisted in her heart as her perception of the world around her narrowed to a pinprick (through which she thought she saw something, but then it was gone as quickly as it had come and all that was left was her narrowed vision). But after those few moments, the pain began to slowly lessen, and as it did so, Sakura heard Noya speak, though he sounded to her as if he were speaking from far away rather than right next to her. And as he spoke, she noticed something else that wasn't right.

* * *

Noya had watched, horrified, as Sakura suddenly collapsed. The twins ran to her side, but Noya held back. Instead of running to her, he activated his Eyes, hoping to find out what was wrong. And he was glad he did, too, because the cause of her collapse stood out to his Eyes. As Yuri hurried to Sakura's side, he said as calmly as he could, "Someone's using a Jutsu on her." 

Yuri stopped in her tracks and her head swiveled so that her hard gaze weighed down on him. Her voice was low and dangerous, making Noya break out in a sweat as he remembered the last time she'd been like that, "What did you say?"

Noya gulped, but stood his ground as bravely as he could as he repeated, "Someone's using a Jutsu on her…I can See it." Noya paused, expecting Yuri to lash out at him, but she didn't. To his surprise, she was standing there looking at him, not quite happily, but not in an I'm-going-to-kill-you way either, and he knew without her saying anything that she wanted him to tell her what he Saw. Noya took a deep breath, then did his best to describe what he was Seeing.

"With our Eyes, we can See when Jutsu are being used, sometimes even what they are doing. The moment Lady Sakura stepped outside, a Jutsu surrounded her. I think it was some sort of binding or sealing Jutsu, because at first it surrounded her whole body, but then it began to constrict itself." his eyes flicked over to where Sakura was on the ground, her hand clutching at her heart and her breathing unsteady, "It's still constricting and getting smaller, but I think it's almost done…and what is left of it seems to be concentrated around her heart."

Noya's eyes returned to Sakura as there was a sudden blinding flash of light that he knew only his Eyes could see. During that flash, he could tell that Sakura suddenly cringed, then moved her hand from her heart to her lower ribs. Then the flash of light became too much for Noya, and for a moment he couldn't see anything. Then in a second the light was completely gone and he could see again, but he could no longer See the glowing light that represented Jutsu. It was apparently gone, but somehow he knew that whatever it had done remained. Noya deactivated his Eyes, though he continued to watch Sakura.

For a long while, Sakura didn't move, she barely even breathed as she stared at nothing in particular. To Noya's great relief, Yuri removed her gaze from him to turn and look at Sakura. As Yuri approached Sakura, Sakura didn't react, which was unusual since she normally knew when someone was nearby without even looking, but then again, she had just had an unknown Jutsu put on her.

Yuri reached down and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura jumped in surprise, and Noya could have sworn he saw her flinch as if in pain. Noya watched as Yuri helped Sakura stand up on her shaky legs as she asked how Sakura was feeling. Sakura smiled weakly and said in a voice that Noya felt was much smaller than it should have been, "I'm ok now, just a little shaken…but what _happened_?"

Yuri looked deep in thought, but since the question hadn't been directed at him, Noya stayed quiet. If Yuri wanted him to explain, she'd tell him to, and he wasn't about to anger her by explaining things to Sakura if Yuri wanted to explain them herself. So instead of speaking, he observed Sakura with what he hoped was a medic's way of looking at things as Yuri continued to think.

Sakura's most obvious problem was that she was so shaky that she could barely hold herself up, though she was trying to stand without Yuri's (and the twins, who had returned to Sakura's side now that they were sure Yuri wasn't going to bite their heads off for it) help. Another obvious thing he saw was that she was paler than usual and her breathing was still somewhat irregular. There was something else that was bothering him and he had almost figured out what it was when Yuri began to speak, interrupting his thoughts.

"Due to what the boy said he saw, and what I was informed of concerning this outing…I believe I know what has happened." Yuri paused for a few moments before she continued, speaking to Sakura, not anyone else, "I was told that during your time outside, your Chakra would be completely suppressed and 'locked away' by our Master, so that there would be no chance for you to escape. I was not, however, aware that it would affect you so." Noya wasn't sure, but for a moment Yuri sounded almost apologetic as she said, "If I had, I would have warned you."

Sakura gave another, stronger, smile, though it was still somewhat weak, and said, "It's ok, I understand." She then pulled out of Yuri's hold and stood by herself, though Noya noted that her legs still shook. The twins moved to either side of her, and Noya knew it was to catch her if she fell again. Apparently she knew it too, because Sakura's smile became brighter as she looked at them and said kindly, "I'm fine now, don't worry. Now, how about we find a good place for a picnic?"

* * *

The group started walking again, with Yuri leading once more, but it took a while for the cheery air to return. As they searched for a good place to have a picnic, Noya continued to watch Sakura. There was still something that was bothering him, maybe even a number of something's, but for one reason or another, he couldn't figure out what it was. 

As he watched Sakura closely, one of the things that were bothering him became clearer. He noticed that, though she was now smiling and acting as she normally did, she somehow seemed not to be acting like herself, or maybe it was that she was acting _too much_ like herself. One way or the other, something was off about how Sakura was acting…it was almost like she was wearing a mask so people wouldn't know what she was truly feeling. But why would she do that?

It didn't take long for Noya to come up with an answer to his own question: she was doing it so as not to worry them. It was obvious that what had happened back there had hurt her, and he guessed that it was still paining her at least somewhat, though how much, he couldn't be sure. But Sakura didn't want to worry them, and even though she was doubtlessly in pain, she was acting as if everything was fine and dandy so that their picnic would still be fun.

He had only known his elder cousin for a little while, but he already could tell that she was the kind of person who put others before herself, even though she was of more importance. Though it was a very gallant thing to do, it was also very stupid…at least in this case it was. She should have known that as the Elder Time Walker and possibly The Pillar, her health and happiness came before theirs. Yet here she was, once again, putting their health and happiness before her own.

Noya opened his mouth to say something, when a thought hit him that made him close his mouth again. He pondered this thought hard…and after a while he came to the decision that he would stay quiet, at least for now. Her health and happiness came before their own…he hadn't thought of it before, but now he had to wonder if, just possibly, if the thing that made her happiest and healthiest, was to see those she cared about being happy and healthy? If that were the case, then not speaking out would be the best course of action. Nonetheless, he planed to keep a close eye on her.

* * *

As they ate their lunch in a small clearing, Noya watched as Sakura entertained Inuka (and Hanako, though Hanako was pretending to not be listening in…she wasn't doing a very good job of it) with stories of her time as a Gennin. Inuka and Hanako hung onto her every word, and if Noya had to guess, he'd say Inuka already idolized the boy named Naruto while Hanako thought he was an idiot. Noya was only listening with half an ear though, because he was still trying to figure out what was bothering him, but from what he'd heard, he had to say he thought Naruto and Inuka were a lot alike. 

Noya continued to watch Sakura carefully. She was still acting oddly, and he had noticed that, while her breathing was coming in regular intervals, she wasn't breathing in as deeply as one would normally breathe, and it worried him. He'd also noticed that she flinched whenever someone or something touched her when she wasn't expecting it. He was now a hundred percent sure that there was something wrong with Sakura, and he just wished she would say something about it so he could quit pretending not to notice.

Noya let his eyes wander around to the Akatsuki members for the first time since they'd gone outside. His eyes first landed on Yuri, but it was near impossible to tell what she was feeling or thinking, though he was sure she was worried about Sakura. She may have even noticed some of the things he'd noticed about Sakura's odd behavior. Next his eye's lit on Tobi, and even though he couldn't see his face, he knew Tobi was worried about Sakura too because he kept sneaking glances in her direction.

Finally his eyes landed on the blond haired…man? He thought it was a guy, but he wasn't completely sure because he looked kind of feminine, and so far he hadn't said anything, so he couldn't tell by his voice. But something about the blond guy's mannerism, however, assured Noya that the blond guy _was _a male, a very feminine male, but a male nonetheless. Besides, who was he to talk about being feminine? He himself had pink hair…and that could very well be the epitome of femininity.

Noya almost smiled at his little joke, but that was before he noticed the way the blond guy was looking at Sakura. He didn't like the look in the man's eyes; there was definitely anger there and possibly hate, or maybe even something like murderous-intention. No, he really didn't like this man…because this man was a serious threat to Sakura, much more so than Yuri, Tobi, or even Itachi. He'd have to keep an eye on this man…but not in the I-want-to-make-sure-you're-ok kind of way.

Noya returned his eyes to Sakura and the twins. They had finished eating and had somehow decided to end up watching clouds. They were all lying back on the grass and staring skyward. Noya joined them just in time for Inuka to suddenly point jubilantly at a cloud exclaiming, "Look! That one looks like a bowl of ramen!"

Hanako then said, "No it doesn't. It looks like a puppy-dog face."

"Whatever!" Inuka said happily, "It's ramen and you know it!"

Hanako scoffed, then said without taking her eyes off the sky, "Sorry to disappoint you, but clouds are made of water, not ramen."

Inuka gave an irritated squeak, "You know that's not what I meant!"

* * *

Sakura was glad to be lying down, though she tried not to let it show. Ever since she'd gone outside, the left side of her chest had hurt, though she didn't know why. She was startled when Noya suddenly walked into her field of vision, but she hid it completely as he joined them in cloud watching (which they had originally gotten into doing when she'd mentioned Shikamaru's favorite pastime). 

She really hadn't needed Yuri to tell her that her Chakra had been completely sealed off from her, it was pretty obvious, but she had wanted to see if Yuri knew. Not only had Yuri known, she'd also told Sakura who had done it…their Master…whoever that was.

Well, whoever he was, that Jutsu of his _hurt_! But the pain wasn't the worst of it, she could take pain, she _was _a ninja after all. No the worst of it became clear to her after the searing pain in her heart had dulled down to a mere twinge of pain. What was worse than feeling like there was a kunai being twisted in your heart, was feeling more than empty. It wasn't that she was out of Chakra, because even when she'd used up all her Chakra, she'd never felt anything like this. This was different than being empty of Chakra…it was much worse.

She couldn't quite explain it, even to herself, what had happened to her. Her Chakra wasn't empty, it hadn't been drained or anything like that. It was simply gone, vanished, almost as if it had never existed. Yet if that was the case, then how was she even alive? You need at least _some_ Chakra to live, if you ever become truly empty, you die. But then what about her? She felt worse than empty, yet she was somehow alive.

Being completely devoid of Chakra also made Sakura feel so _vulnerable_. She had noticed it the moment that Yuri had startled her, what having no Chakra meant other than that she would be unable to do Jutsu. It meant that she was suddenly cut off from herself and everyone else. It wasn't like she had suddenly lost one of her senses, it was worse. It wasn't as if she had just become blind, or deaf, or mute…it was more like she had become all three of those things as well as having lost her sense of smell, touch and even taste. She felt as if she had lost everything, and yet somehow still existed.

Sakura sighed, then had to concentrate on not wincing as a sharp pain shot through her left side. That was another thing, without her chakra, she wouldn't even be able to find out what was wrong with her. Once the pain subsided, Sakura's attention returned to the moments when she had felt the sudden pain grip her body. There had been something almost familiar about it that had nothing to do with her being used to being in pain.

Maybe it was in the way the pain had just suddenly come on, or how it had made her collapse, or maybe it had to do with some sort of odd feeling that went with the pain. She couldn't be sure, but something about the incident reminded her of something, she just couldn't remember what.

Sakura racked her brain, and she had almost come up with something when she suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine, which then caused her left side to hurt again, which meant she had to try hard not to wince. Once that chain reaction finished, Sakura had to force herself to not get up and return the glares that she knew Deidara was sending her. She knew he wasn't the only one who was watching her, she guessed that both Noya and Yuri were watching her for sure and that Tobi, Inuka, and Hanako were most likely taking fleeting glances at her. But Deidara was glaring at her, and it irked her.

* * *

Noya let his eyes wander the sky as he thought about things. Noya didn't even know he'd activated his Eye's until he found himself looking at the blond haired man, who should have been out of his line of sight. The blond man was glaring at Sakura again, that couldn't be a good sign. Noya turned his attention to Sakura. She was either deep in thought or she was spacing…or maybe a bit of both. 

Noya returned his eyes to the sky, and as the sun momentarily blinded him, he felt a spirit pulling at him. Noya closed his eyelids, though it didn't stop him from seeing through them, since his Eye's were activated. He concentrated on the 'direction' that the spirit was pulling from. It must really have something important to say if it was strong enough to pull on his concentration so easily.

He followed the tug on his mind and his power until he found the one who was doing the tugging. In his minds eye he saw the spirit, and he knew right away who it was, though he'd been born after they'd died. Noya opened his 'mouth' to say that he'd pass along a message when suddenly the spirit said, "No need, I'll pass it on myself."

What happened next was something that Noya thought he'd never be able to do, at least not at such a young age.

* * *

There! I came up with this idea while I was on the plane home from California…maybe you've figured out who the spirit is, maybe not. You'll find out next chapter, so don't worry, it won't be _that _long of a wait, unlike the door…you won't be finding out 'for sure' about the door for a while yet. You can guess all you want, but the answer won't be given for a while. 

Reviews and constructive criticisms (and people going to my forum, **Circles**, which there is a link to on my profile) are welcome, but I will use a paintball gun on anyone who flames…or even better, I'll give the paintball gun to Wolf-chan to use on the flamers! Well, on the _pretty list_! (YAY! I've reached the 1000 review's mark!)

Thanks to: magickbendingdemon, CosenAngel, krazykoreangurl, Quiet Moon, chester-roxs, Selene98, XXRedWolfXX, sakura-angel113 (a little over a week, if my thinking is correct), chikarubunny (I thank you very much. And don't wory, you didn't confuse me at all), SnowSkadi (though I'm a little confused...your welcome), Gothic Saku-chan, Crazedchocolatefan, Mittelan, I-Love-Akatsuki, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Sesshomaru20, xokatherine229, Itachi4Eva, animal.cracker.assassinator, akatsuki's hikari, aznkitty180, Sunset Sky (you know, if I get you off one clif, I put you on another), Hao'sAnjul, Cute-killer-Gurl, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Kinomi-chan, hexcutie (You'll notice if you look at the chapter names, one is called Yuri/Konan. I've decided that Yuri is her first name and Konan her last name), Cster, LaReSaKa, Aishiteru Aizen (if you havn't yet, I think you should go look at my forum, **Circles**. There's a link to it on my profile. You should post your ideas there. I think people would love to hear what you think. I know I do!), Tsubasa-Angel, SpeedDemon315, xMissxPepperx, LadySakuraForest, tonnora, Alone in a Blizzard, Zamos (you're right, that is kind of weird), InARealPickle, Black Rose Red Blood, cherryblossomsky, Sui-chan (that's kind of scarry...seeing as she's based off of your sister), Sakimi1014, dark Alley, Blue-SouledKunoichi, Fallen to Earth, Me and Raina Naruto addicts., sakikimono, & monoxidedreams for reviewing!


	18. Junko

Disclaimer: My story is just that, a story, not a Manga/Anime.

**Chapter 18: Junko**

Noya suddenly shot up, startling Sakura from her thoughts. "What's wrong, Noya?", she asked as she sat up carefully, trying not to wince as pain shot through her left side.

Noya didn't answer, instead he just looked at her. On either side of her, the twins sat up as well, then to Sakura's surprise, Hanako, not Inuka, exclaimed loudly, "Noya!" as Hanako paused, Sakura turned to look at her, and watched as her pupils shrank in her blue eyes. Next Hanako said suspiciously, "You're not Noya…" Suddenly Sakura was very alert. What was going on?

Noya chuckled lightly as he said casually, "No, I'm not." it was Noya's voice and Noya's body, but something about it all shouted that this was _not_ Noya. Sakura blinked in confusion, and in that millisecond, the scene had changed. Yuri was standing behind Noya with a kunai pressed lightly against the skin of his neck.

Yuri's voice was ice cold as she demanded, "Who are you?" Sakura shivered at the deadly aura that was radiating off of Yuri that she could feel even without her Chakra, then winced as pain shot through her left side again.

Not-Noya chuckled again as he said calmly, "Now, now, be careful with that. You wouldn't want to kill the boy would you?"

Yuri didn't budge an inch, her eyes as hard as steel as she repeated, "Who are you?"

Not-Noya turned his head just slightly, so that he could see Yuri as he said casually, "Oh, so it's Miss Blue…if my memory is correct, your name should be Yuri Konan, correct?" Not-Noya didn't wait for an answer as he said, "You know who I am, though you've never met me before, nor I you." Not-Noya then returned his head to the forward position as he said, "I'm here to speak with my daughter, so you'd best release this boy before I _make _you."

Yuri pulled the kunai away from Noya's skin, but kept it poised in front of his neck as she said almost too quietly for Sakura to here, "Just for proof…what is your name?"

Not-Noya turned his face up to look at Yuri as he said casually, "My name is Junko Hoshi, and if I hadn't died, I would have tried to have become Junko Haruno, whether the village liked it or not. Now, Konan, this is your last warning," all of a sudden Not-Noya's--Junko's-- voice was no longer casual, but threatening beyond words, "_remove the kunai this instant_." Yuri slowly pulled back and returned the kunai from whence it came.

Sakura could do nothing but stare at Noya/Junko as he/she turned to face her. Was this her mother? Was it possible? Sakura quickly glanced to either side of her, and found that the twins were both on their knees with their heads pressed to the ground in the most respectful/degrading bow that existed. For a moment, Sakura sat there confused as Junko continued walking forward towards them, then she heard Hanako quietly hiss, "Bow! It's Lady Junko, the thirty-sixth Pillar!"

Sakura fumbled to try to do as Hanako said, and in doing so caused her left side to become enflamed with pain, which she tried to ignore. Sakura had only begun to lower her head when she felt a hand on her chin, lifting her head back up. In front of her stood Noya, but the way he held himself was so different that Sakura knew that there would be no way to mistake Junko for him, even if it was the same body.

Junko smiled kindly as she stared into Sakura's eyes, her hand still on Sakura's chin as she said, "You shouldn't bow to me, Sakura." She then removed her hand from Sakura's chin and waited for Sakura to sit up straight.

Sakura sat up slowly, and feeling as if she were in shock (which she probably was), she asked quietly, "M-mother?" Junko smiled and nodded. Sakura stared at Junko, though all she saw was Noya's face. "Mother…" Sakura had tried it again, but though it rolled off her tongue, when she said it, the person brought to her mind was her aunt that had raised her, not the woman who had given birth to her. But then again, she'd only ever seen her mother once, in the vision she'd had during the eclipse, and she'd never actually met her before either, so why _would _she come to mind?

As Sakura watched, Junko's smile fell and she turned to Hanako, who still had her head pressed to the ground, and said tartly, "You girl, what do you think gives you the right to order your superior around? Hm? Well? Answer!"

Hanako started shaking and stuttered into the ground, "I-I'm s-sorry, I-I sh-shouldn't h-have--"

Junko cut her off curtly, "Don't apologize to _me_! I'm not the one you need to apologize to!" Hanako started stuttering an apology to Sakura, and Sakura could do nothing but sit there stupefied.

Then Junko's eyes landed on Inuka as she snapped, "And both of you are bowing to the wrong person! That bow is to be used only for The Pillar, and though I may have once been The Pillar, I'm dead now! Don't think that just because you're my brother--who became The Pillar after my death--'s children that you are allowed to ignore the rules concerning your new Pillar! You--"

Sakura finally found her voice, "Stop it!" Junko instantly fell silent and turned to face Sakura. Sakura didn't give her a chance to say anything, afraid that if she did, then she'd never get to say what she wanted to say, "Stop it mother." the word mother didn't seem to fit, so Sakura said next, "Junko, they don't have to do things like this. I don't _want _them to do stupid things like this. It's pointless and degrading." Sakura reached out with both hands and put one on both of the twins' backs reassuringly as she said to them, "You can sit up, it's fine."

Sakura turned her eyes back to Junko as the twins sat up, both shaking in fear. Sakura found herself glaring at Junko as if daring her to say anything against what she was doing, but Junko just shrugged and came to sit formally in front of her, "Very well, if that's what you want…I don't mind." Sakura blinked, Junko had just done yet another one-eighty. One moment she was barking orders like an angry general, the next she was doing what Sakura told her to as if she had planned to do so all along.

Sakura glanced at Inuka, and found that she was looking at her lap, but was no longer shaking. She then glanced at Hanako, and saw that she was still shaking like a leaf with fear and looked like she was trying not to cry. Sakura gently wrapped an arm around Hanako and let Hanako lean on her. Sakura then turned and met the eyes of Junko, and for the first time, noticed that her Eyes were activated.

Junko must have noticed what Sakura had noticed because she said, "They'll remain activated as long as I'm here, because the boy is using his ability constantly in order for me to be able to be here." She paused, and then added almost sadly, "I won't be able to be here for too long today…his Chakra's already low, and once that's gone, I'll have to leave. But until then, I'm free to speak with you, which," Junko said as she leaned forward almost like an excited child, "is the whole reason I came here. So tell me, how are you?"

Junko's sudden change in attitude had thrown Sakura for a loop, so, unsurely, she answered, "I'm fine…thanks."

To Sakura's surprise, Junko's expression suddenly darkened as her eyebrows snapped together. She then asked in an odd tone, "Tell me, Sakura, has anything…bad…happened to you recently? Because something's…not right…"

It was Yuri who answered in her normal monotone, "Our Master has suppressed all her Chakra for our trip outside."

Junko's head swiveled to look at Yuri, and for the first time, she seemed to notice Tobi and Deidara. Sakura could have sworn that her eyes lingered a moment on Tobi before she returned her gaze to Yuri and said, "Oh, really? And why would he do that?"

To Sakura's surprise (yet again) Deidara was the one who answered angrily, "Because if He didn't, the girl'd run away, Yeah."

Now both Junko and Yuri were glaring at him, but it was Yuri who said, "Deidara, I've told you, you are to call her either 'Miss Sakura' or 'Miss Haruno', not 'the girl'."

Junko nodded in agreement, muttering "Or _Lady_ Sakura.", and then she gave Deidara one last glare before looking only at Yuri and pretending that Deidara wasn't there. "So, Konan, why would Sakura try to run away? For what reason…" Junko trailed off and just stared Yuri in the eye. No words passed between them, yet after a few tense minutes, Junko said in a quiet, yet angry, voice, "I see…so that's what ended up happening…the idiot." Junko then stood up and said in a tight voice, "Konan, give me a piece of paper and something to write with, _now_."

* * *

Sakura held Hanako, who had climbed onto her lap once Junko had begun talking with Yuri, and listened to the odd conversation that was going on. She couldn't really understand what all was going on, but she did know that Junko was now mad. But why did she suddenly want a piece of paper? What was she going to write? And why was Yuri doing what she ordered without question…and why wasn't Yuri getting angry with Junko for ordering her around? 

Junko took the paper and the pen and began writing something quickly in flowing letters, though Sakura couldn't tell what she was writing. When she finished, she folded the paper meticulously then wrote something on the outside of the paper before handing it to Yuri, saying quickly, "Give this to that master of yours and tell him he better pay more attention to what he's doing. He hurt Sakura with that Jutsu of his." She paused then looked at Sakura, her eyes narrowed, and she added, "And you better have a medic take a look at her, I think at least one rib has been broken or un-healed, maybe more."

Sakura didn't even have time to let it register that the broken rib was the cause of the pain in her left side, because Junko smiled at her sadly and said, "I'm afraid I have to go, but I hope that I'll be able to talk to you more next time, Sakura." Then Junko closed her eyes, and Noya's body began to fall. Yuri caught Noya around the middle before he hit the ground, then laid him down beside Sakura.

Hanako clambered off of Sakura's lap and tumbled over to Noya's side as Inuka did the same. Sakura reached for Noya's wrist and felt his pulse. It was slower than normal, but it was still within a healthy rate. Sakura ignored the pain in her side and reached past Hanako to place her hand on Noya's forehead. He didn't have a fever, but she didn't really expect him to.

She was just removing her hand from his head when he began to stir. Sakura waited as he opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times in confusion. Hanako leaned over Noya so he'd be able to see her easily as she asked in a wobbly voice, "Are you ok? How do you feel?"

Noya gave a small smile, then groaned, "I feel…really weird…and really tired...but other than that, I'm ok."

Inuka asked, "Do you know what happened, Noya?"

Noya sat up with Hanako's help before he answered, "Yeah…I think I channeled a spirit, though I don't know how I did it." Noya rubbed his eyes tiredly, then said, "I shouldn't have been able to do it…I'm still too young. If I remember correctly, the youngest Spirit Walker to channel a sprit was about twenty-five years old…that means I've somehow beaten that record by fifteen years."

Sakura had been thinking about things while Noya had spoken, and when he finished, she asked, "Do you know what happened while Junko had control of your body?"

Noya didn't answer right away, but finally he said, "In a way yes, but in a way no. It's hard to explain…it's kind of like I'm in a room with walls of paper. Sometimes I can tell what's happening and what's being said on the other side of one of the walls, but at other times, I just can't." He paused, then said with a half-hearted smile, "But the experience isn't that cozy…it feels really weird to have someone else in your mind, controlling your body."

Noya then proceeded to shiver at the memory, and as he did so, Sakura couldn't help but smile. She knew what he was talking about, after all, she'd had Ino in her head. "I know what you mean, having someone in your head isn't exactly fun." When Noya gave her a questioning look, she said, "I've had to fight my friend, Yamanaka, Ino." Noya nodded at that, and Sakura knew he knew what the Yamanaka's were famous for, "It was during the Chunin exams…I barely got her out of my head before she made me forfeit the mach…of course, in the end, the battle was a draw, so neither of us went on to the next round."

Noya looked at her with an odd look in his eyes as he said, " I see." The look didn't leave his eyes as he changed the subject, "I think Lady Junko is planning to come back when next she can." Sakura nodded and told him what she said about 'next time', then Noya said, "It will be a while before I can do that again. No Spirit Walker can channel spirits all the time. I don't know how long it will be, since it can differ from person to person, but I do know I won't be able to do that again soon."

Sakura nodded, "That's ok, I don't want you to push yourself too hard." Noya just rolled his eyes. Sakura was about to say something when she felt a light tap on her shoulder and had to force herself not to jump out of her skin. She still wasn't used to people being able to come up to her without her noticing.

Sakura turned around to find Yuri and Tobi standing right behind her. Deidara, meanwhile, was starting to pack up the picnic things angrily. It was obvious he'd been forced to do it by Yuri, and that he wasn't at all happy about it. Sakura guessed that it was probably as punishment for calling her 'the girl', though why Yuri was so caught up with being polite to her was beyond her.

Yuri cleared her throat, then waited, making Sakura think she was supposed to say something, but then Tobi stood forward uncertainly and said, "Tobi's supposed to try to heal Miss Sakura."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and asked, "_Try_?"

* * *

That was long, and it took me all day to write because my Father kept making me come out and help him do things (aka: physical labor outside in the very windy cold). I don't know if it seems choppy, but if it does, that's probably why. 

Itachi will be back in the story in the next chapter, so be happy!

Oh, and just to let you know, I **didn't** name Sakura's mother Junko after my name, that was just plain coincidence. I named her that because the meaning can be (jun) obedient, (ko) child, so she's supposed to be the 'obedient child'…

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my Forum, **Circles**, that I have the link to on my profile), Flames…well…do I really need to say it? No? Well then, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon (If you're going nutty with theories, then you should go put them on my forum. Then you can make everyone else go nutty too), Aishiteru Aizen, mony (no, I don't think I'd be able to write somthing like that), Selene98, animal.cracker.assassinator, Rangerette, Emo Marionette Bella-chan, Cster (It was done by Master, not Leader), sakura-angel113, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, SnowSkadi, akatsuki's hikari, Sailormooninukag, Sakimi1014 (you guessed right), Crazedchocolatefan, CosenAngel, SpeedDemon315, chikarubunny, Taki-kun (very funny...but don't go killing your brother...that would make you too much like Sasuke), Jax9, xokatherine229, Hao'sAnjul (you don't have to sit still, you just have to wait), Alone in a Blizzard (You're not reading too deap into it. I didn't originally do that on purpose, but I noticed it too and decided to just go with it. And yeah, Hanako is left with Sasuke's place, but she's not all that much like him...thank goodness), LadySakuraForest, aznkitty180, Itachi4Eva, magickbendingdemon (Lego leauge?), NightWing101, UchihaOwnsMe, LaReSaKa, Mokulule, whiteinu1, tonnora (flaming is when people write in and say only mean and unhelpful things), RyuMiko, White Wolf Pheonix (hmm...that's a good question. Well, I started to write my first real non-school related story when I was in the 6th grade.), MoonIdiot, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Ami, pandagirl723, & sara1965 for reviewing!


	19. Stressful

Disclaimer: Don't even _try _to say I own…

**Chapter 19: Stressful**

_Sakura raised an eyebrow and asked, "_Try?_"_

Tobi fidgeted as he answered, "Well, Tobi's not very good at healing other people…Tobi's good at healing Tobi, but Tobi's not good at healing, well, not Tobi. But Konan and that Junko lady…", Tobi pause as Yuri glared at him, he gulped then continued lamely, "Tobi's supposed to heal Miss Sakura now."

Sakura ignored the feeling in her gut that told her not to let Tobi _try_, as she said, "I guess it can't be helped. I can't do anything about it until I get my Chakra back." Tobi walked forward nervously until he was standing right in front of her. He reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder as if expecting to get his head bitten off for it.

He closed his eyes, and Sakura knew he was searching to find out which rib or ribs were broken. He opened his eyes and mumbled, "There are three ribs that are fractured, and one of them is pretty serious…that's not good." Tobi closed his eyes again and said, trying to sound courageous and failing, "Tobi will heal these now." Sakura could practically hear the unspoken 'I hope' at the end of his sentence, and her gut feeling was that this was a bad sign. But once again, she ignored it.

Tobi moved his hand until it was hovering over her left side. Sakura prepared herself for the pain of re-growing bone, but what she got was a lot worse than that. Pain coursed through Sakura's left side and Sakura knew without a doubt that his 'try' had failed. Before Sakura was aware of it, she had pushed Tobi's hand away from her forcefully. She barely stopped herself from yelling at him in reaction to what he'd done.

Once Sakura was sure she'd be able to speak calmly, without letting it be known that she was both angry and in pain, she said to Tobi, who was looking at her with fright evident in his eye, "Tobi, don't ever do that again. I think you made it worse, not better." That wasn't quite the truth, but she wasn't about to tell him that she _knew_ he'd just turned at least one of the fractures into a clean break. He hadn't done it on purpose, but his control of his Chakra was pathetic. She knew that much even without her Chakra.

Sakura's thoughts buzzed quickly around her head. She'd have to be careful how much she moved. She wouldn't want the broken rib to puncture anything vital, or not vital, for that matter. She'd have to heal it as soon as she could. For now, the big problem at hand was Tobi. If he was the Akatsuki's best medic…well, let's just say she wouldn't want to be them when they're injured.

Sakura looked at Tobi, and she found herself feeling bad for him. It was obvious that he was horrified with the knowledge that he'd just hurt her. Her eyes jumped to Yuri, who looked like she was about to yell at Tobi. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Deidara smirk, he was happy that she'd been hurt. Really, what kind of 'bodyguard' was he? Sakura shook her head, then focused on Tobi as another thought became clear in her mind.

"Tobi," Sakura said quickly, making sure to interrupt Yuri, who had been just about to yell at him, "Tobi, tell me…were you ever taught as a healer, or did you just pick it up from a book or something?" Tobi, who had already been fidgeting, turned red and looked down at his feet as he shrugged. But that was no answer, so Sakura waited for him to actually say something in answer. Finally she said, "Well?"

Tobi's face got even redder as mumbled something so quietly that Sakura almost didn't catch it. His answer caused her eyebrows to raise, Sakura was about to say something when a sharp pang in her side reminded her that she had best get back inside so that she'd get her Chakra back and thus be able to heal her ribs. That came first. After that, she could deal with the dilemma that Tobi brought up.

Sakura reluctantly turned from Tobi to look at her cousins. Hanako and Inuka were trying to help Noya stand up, but they weren't strong enough to hold up his bodyweight, so it wasn't working that well. Sakura's mind once again went into overdrive, and finally she said calmly, "Tobi, take Noya, he's practically asleep on his feet. Let's go in so I can get these broken ribs fixed."

* * *

As they approached the door that they had come out of, Sakura's thoughts were running a mile a minute. There was the Tobi dilemma to take care of, though that probably wouldn't be too hard to deal with. Another prominent thought was that of her mother. What should she be feeling about Junko? She wasn't sure. That brought her to another thing that she wasn't sure about. Itachi. 

She could no longer deny that she still loved him…she couldn't even deny that _he _still loved her, because it was obvious that he did, but…what was she to do? She loved him, but was it really ok to love him? He was an S-class criminal, possibly one of the strongest there were, and she was…in the end, she didn't even know who she was anymore. She was supposed to be Sakura Haruno of Konoha, but could she really say that was who she was, when she was in love with Itachi Uchiha? What was she to do?

As Sakura entered the clearing where the door back inside was, she felt for a moment as if she wasn't being watched as much as she had been before. Sakura looked back, wondering if Deidara had finally stopped glaring at her, but she wasn't in luck. When was she ever? Sakura had begun to turn her eyes towards Tobi and Noya, wondering if Noya had finally fallen asleep, when something in the forest caught her eye.

Sakura stopped walking and focused on the place where her eye had been caught, and saw movement. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Yuri and Deidara turn back to look too. Then Yuri's voice said blandly, "It is just them." and as she said that, Sakura figured out that what it was she had seen moving. It was Itachi and Kisame. In a minute they entered the clearing as well. Kisame's blade was still wrapped up, much to Sakura's relief. Her last encounter with that blade hadn't been fun, and it had barely nicked her.

Itachi looked as emotionless as ever as his Sharingan deactivated, but when Kisame saw her, a grin broke out on his face. Sakura wasn't quite sure, it may have been the shark teeth, but his grin was kind of creeping her out. "Last I saw you, you were tattered and knocked out." Sakura felt herself twitch at that, and then she had to stop herself from showing that the twitch had caused her side to start hurting worse than ever.

Sakura put on her 'mask' so that no one would notice that the pain was becoming worse. Sakura gave a fake smile and retorted as if he wasn't an S-class criminal who could easily kill her for what she was about to say, "And last time I saw you, I'd just given you the slip." Sakura saw him twitch, and was expecting him to get angry and possibly start yelling at her. What he did instead startled her, and possibly _frightened _her, more than if he'd lunged at her. Kisame...laughed.

Kisame turned to Itachi and said, still chuckling, "The girls got guts. I got to give her that." Itachi just walked past Kisame, not even acknowledging that he'd heard. Kisame didn't seem fazed and said to Sakura as they all began walking towards the door, "But guts will only get you so far, girly." Sakura knew without looking that Yuri was glaring at him for calling her 'girly', because he added, "_Miss _Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, still acting with bravado and casualness to hide that her side felt like it was on fire, "You think I don't know that? It's not my fault that my guts are all I have left after that Jutsu left me with no Chakra." Kisame didn't say anything, but Sakura got the odd feeling that he was holding back more laughter.

They had almost reached the door when Yuri called out, "Kisame, Deidara, stay back. I need to speak with you." As those two and Yuri dropped back, the rest of them continued forward. Sakura couldn't help but think that Deidara for sure was going to be in trouble. Kisame may be in trouble, but she somehow doubted it.

Itachi opened the door that led back inside allowing first Tobi, who was holding Noya, to go through. After Tobi came the twins, who were hurrying to stay near Noya, who by now was asleep. Sakura stepped through the door and Itachi followed closely, shutting the door behind him. Sakura walked forward as Itachi paused to lock the door.

As Sakura heard the lock turn into place, she felt something inside her burst open forcefully. Sakura stumbled and would have fallen if Itachi hadn't caught her elbow. As Sakura straightened, she felt a sense of relief flood her. She had been forcing away the thought that it may not…but her Chakra had returned. For all that her side now hurt worse than ever, Sakura felt better than before.

Sakura was about to continue following Tobi, but then she noticed that Itachi hadn't let go of her elbow. Sakura smiled up at him and was about to say that they'd better not lose sight of Tobi, but Itachi started speaking first. His eyes were narrowed as he asked, "What happened? You have you're 'mask' on." Sakura was too startled to say anything. How'd he noticed her 'mask'? But the answer was easy enough to find…because he was Itachi. Sakura decided that it would be pointless to lie, so she told him about what had happened (minus a few small details like Deidara's glares and Tobi's mess up).

* * *

By the time Sakura had told him everything that had happened, Tobi was long gone, apparently not having noticed that they hadn't been following him. Itachi took her hand and started leading her through the maze of corridors until he brought her to a room with a window that looked something like a sitting room. Itachi didn't need to tell her that he'd brought her here so that she'd be able to heal herself in the light without being distracted by her cousins or Tobi. 

Sakura sat herself down carefully and got to work healing her ribs. As she did so, she noticed something peculiar. Her ribs were fractured in exactly the same places as they had been when she'd first come here. Sakura had thought that the force of the Jutsu that had locked her Chakra away had somehow broken her ribs, but now she had another hypothesis beginning to form in her head. Sakura continued to find more and more evidence to support her hypothesis.

Sakura continued to work and think at the same time. Sakura formed her hypothesis carefully as she tried to remember what exactly her mother had said about her ribs. When she remembered, she knew that her hypothesis was correct. Her mother had said her ribs were either broken or _un-healed_. It made sense, in a way. Her ribs weren't newly broken…instead the Jutsu must have undone some of the healing that had been placed on her ribs.

Maybe it was only on her left side because that was where, according to Noya, the Jutsu had been constricting around. As she continued to heal, she also had to notice that the ribs that had re-broken hadn't completely been un-healed, because they weren't quite as bad as they had been. They were better than before, even though it wasn't by much…so maybe that meant…that what the Jutsu had undone was merely what her own Chakra had healed, not what her body had healed naturally. It was possible that the Jutsu unraveled any Chakra healing that hadn't come naturally.

Of course, it could be that she was over thinking everything, and that the Jutsu merely had broken her bones where they were already weak from recently having been broken. Sakura remained lost in thought, not noticing that she had already finished healing herself and completely forgetting that Itachi was watching her.

* * *

Itachi found himself watching Sakura carefully as she sat and healed herself. He knew full well when she had finished healing herself and had merely become lost in thought. While she had been healing herself, she had been surrounded in a calm air, but now she looked like she was beginning to stress. 

He couldn't blame her. From the sound of it, a lot of things had happened while she was outside. She obviously had a lot of things on her mind but…Itachi watched as her posture slumped and she began unconsciously biting her lip…it couldn't be good for her to be stressing like she was.

Itachi reached out a hand and gently shook her shoulder. Sakura's eyes shot open and she looked up at him in surprise, and then blushed as she noticed that she'd gotten lost in thought. Itachi chuckled quietly at how her reactions were so predictable. He held out his hand and she took it after an almost unnoticeable pause…but _he _had noticed it.

Itachi mentally shrugged, he knew it would take her awhile to adjust to them being a _them_. He may have wanted her to hurry up and get over the fact that they were supposed to be enemies, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. Sakura wasn't one to rush into things blindly. But sometimes being overcautious had its drawbacks too.

Itachi helped Sakura to her feet, and then decided to give her a suggestion about something that might help her get her mind off of what all was causing her to stress.

* * *

After Yuri had finished severely scolding Deidara for how he'd been acting around Sakura, she sent him back out to patrol the forest. Yuri turned to Kisame and ordered sternly, "Report." 

"Not too much happened. The biggest thing was when we found a small group of Grass Nins poking their noses where they didn't belong…so I cut them off…along with the rest of their heads. They were of no threat though, they appeared to have just stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time."

Yuri forced herself to not let her anger show in her voice as she said, "You didn't question them first?"

Kisame just shrugged like it was nothing, "I didn't see a reason to. Besides, they're dead, and dead men don't talk."

Yuri had to force herself not to smack him on the head. "Very well, you may go on patrol now." Kisame nodded, then disappeared into the forest. Once she was sure he was gone, Yuri let herself bring her hand to her head. Kisame's rash actions could possibly have just cost them important information…

As Yuri unlocked the door and stepped inside, she pushed thoughts of lost information out of her head. She had to go speak with Pein. He'd want to know about Junko, and he'd know how to contact their Master so that they could get the letter that Junko had written to him.

Yuri sighed, today was just getting better and better…

* * *

I'll leave it up to you to decide if that last line was sarcastic or not… 

I'm probably not going to get to write a chapter today for a number of reasons (like being sick and having to go get math help), but it shouldn't effect you getting a chapter since I am ahead of what I give you. As long as I can write a chapter next week, it shouldn't effect you.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, Circles, that there is a link to in my profile) but flames...well...they won't live long enough to see the light...because they'll be snuffed out. Now onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Selene98, Quiet Moon, krazykoreangurl, XXRedWolfXX, Gothic Saku-chan, knightchaser, LadySakuraForest, Rangerette, chester-roxs, animal.cracker.assassinator, xMissxPepperx, Sakimi1014, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Hao'sAnjul, sakura-angel113, SpeedDemon315, sara1965, Mittelan, Jax9, Shoujo x, chikarubunny (thanks), aznkitty180, xokatherine229, Aishiteru Aizen, Itachi4Eva, magickbendingdemon, akatsuki's hikari, yourmaster (I've been told that it's not true), CosenAngel, Cster, animemistress209, dark Alley, I-Love-Akatsuki, XlovelessandlostX, Kinomi-chan, Crazedchocolatefan, Alone in a Blizzard (actually, so far you're the only one to ask about that), sammyamber123, MoonIdiot, mony (more of Itachi and Sakura are coming...and I can't Email people, 'cause I'm not allowed to give out my Email adress), Jay, black55widow, luckyazn, SnowSkadi (you barely made it on the pretty list) for reviewing!


	20. Sakura vs Itachi

Disclaimer: I hope you're ready for some action…

**Chapter 20: Sakura vs. Itachi**

Sakura let Itachi lead her through the maze of hallways. They were headed to the training hall again. Sakura knew Itachi was right, she did need to do something to get her mind off of everything…and having a practice fight would definitely make her concentrate on one thing and one thing only: fighting…well, that and getting stronger. It may not be the physically safest thing to do after having just healed her broken ribs, but it was the best solution that came to mind, so it would have to do.

Once they were inside the training hall, Sakura removed the Akatsuki robe (which she still had to wear due to the fact that it was still winter and still _very _cold) and hung it over a tree branch. She knew that, though she was cold now, she would soon be sweating, and that wearing the robe wouldn't help.

Sakura turned to face Itachi, who hadn't bothered to remove his robe. And why would he, this would be like nothing to him. After all, she was nowhere near as strong as he was. She was- Sakura pushed those thoughts away as she got into a fighting stance. Thoughts like that would only hinder her…even if they _were_ true. Sakura took a breath, and then launched her first wave of attacks…which Itachi blocked without moving from where he stood.

Sakura started another volley of attacks, but no matter what, Itachi only blocked, he never counter attacked. That angered Sakura; he was going easy on her again! Sakura jumped back as a thought entered her mind. Could she…no that wouldn't work…what she needed was a plan. She wanted to get stronger, but that wouldn't happen if she was merely hitting a target without the target truly reacting.

What she needed was a way to get Itachi to actually become involved in this fight…instead of just standing there, blocking her attacks. But how to do that? She probably could just ask him to really fight back, but somehow that didn't seem like something that would work all too well. Beyond that, that was the easy way out…and the easy thing to do is seldom the right thing to do. But then, what to do?

All this thinking happened in the small amount of time it took for Sakura to land after having jumped back, but it still wasn't enough. She needed more time, she needed to come up with a plan, she needed…to look at her surroundings. Sakura smirked as her eyes took in the trees around her for the first time. That would work.

Sakura didn't waste time debating with herself whether or not this would _really _work. She ran towards Itachi, fist ready to punch. Sakura saw him prepare to block her again, but he wasn't her target. Right before she came within his reach, Sakura punched the ground as hard as she could. She didn't have the use of her enhanced strength, but hopefully this would be enough. Suddenly the air was filled with dust, giving Sakura the cover she needed to disappear into the trees while hiding her Chakra signature.

* * *

Itachi stayed put, wondering where Sakura would attack from. She had surprised him with what she had just done, which was saying something, but he had a pretty good guess as to what she was up to. She was hiding her Chakra signature, but he knew that she was hiding somewhere in the trees around them. More likely than not she was within sight of him, preparing to attack him when he let his guard down, not that he was going to do that. She would attack eventually, so all there was to do was wait.

It took five minutes for Itachi to realize that Sakura wasn't planning to attack him any time soon. It didn't take him much longer to figure out why, either. Sakura had noticed that he'd been going easy on her…after all, it had been pretty obvious…that had most likely angered her; and she would, of course, have taken it as an insult. She would have felt as if he was saying she was weak, though, of course, he hadn't been.

He had merely been holding back so that he wouldn't hurt her. He knew that she was currently in no condition to take him on in a real fight. But a real fight was obviously what she wanted. She wanted to prove that she wasn't weak, not to him, but to herself. She really had an inferiority complex…

Well, he wasn't going to give her a real battle, even though that's what she wanted. He wasn't about to let her get hurt any more than necessary. No, he wasn't going to give it his all, because if he did, she'd most likely end up severely hurt. But, that didn't mean he wouldn't give her some of what she wanted. She wanted him to actually fight her…so he would…just not whole-heartedly.

* * *

Sakura watched Itachi from a tree. She didn't like the thought of how she'd almost fallen from the tree when she'd first jumped up into its branches. She had forgotten that she couldn't use her Chakra to keep herself attached to the tree…well…it wasn't so much that she'd forgotten as that she'd hoped she'd be able to.

But _no_, she couldn't even do something as simple as use her Chakra to keep herself in a tree. Oh, she could heal multiple broken ribs in little to no time, but she couldn't do something so simple that she'd gotten it right on her first try back when she was a Gennin? Why was it that she was only allowed to use healing Jutsu, and not anything else?

If she had to guess, she'd say that Yuri's 'Master' was the one who was limiting her Chakra now as well as back when she went outside. She could understand the reasons for repressing her Chakra, but she just couldn't figure out why she was allowed to solely use healing Jutsu, and it bothered her. Why could she only heal-

A memory suddenly interrupted Sakura's thoughts. It was of what she'd done to Noya's hand. That made her wonder…could she use healing Jutsu _and _Hoshijutsu? It was possible, but now probably wouldn't be a good time to test it out.

Sakura returned her focus to Itachi…Wait…w-where was Itachi? '_Oh, shoot,_' Sakura thought as she spread out her awareness, searching for any sign of Itachi, '_this can't be good…where'd he go?_' He wasn't anywhere to be seen. Sakura looked all around, but couldn't see anything and then-Sakura pushed away from the tree and let gravity pull her down just as Itachi landed on the branch she had been on.

Sakura cushioned her landing, then rolled right, barely missing Itachi's punch. Sakura barely had time to get off the ground before Itachi came at her. Now _she _was the one on the defensive. Sakura smirked, it was much better to be on the defensive than to be throwing punches at someone who won't fight back.

Sakura barely dodged a kick, and then immediately went on the counter attack. As Sakura fought, she knew that Itachi had figured out why she had gone into the forest. It wasn't to hide or to even get an advantage against him…no, it was merely a way to make him fight her. Because if she didn't come out to fight him, he'd eventually have to come in to fight her. She had had no greater plan than that.

During the time it had taken him to figure out that that was her plan, she had thought of many things, and the main one was a new plan. A plan on how to possibly defeat Itachi. Oh, she knew she would probably never be able to defeat him, at least not when she didn't have her Chakra, but she also knew that there would be one thing that could help make this plan work. Even now Itachi was going easy on her, but if she could get her plan to work…it would be his downfall.

Sakura couldn't dodge Itachi's kick, so she blocked it, but the force of the kick sent her flying. Sakura rolled in mid air and landed on her feet, ignoring the throbbing in her arm that she had used to block his kick. Sakura decided to return the favor. She kicked…but Itachi caught her ankle. Sakura didn't let that deter her, she put her hands on the ground and swiveled her body so that her other leg came at Itachi from the side.

Itachi released her and jumped back, effectively avoiding Sakura's second kick. Sakura didn't waste time or momentum, she pushed off of the ground with her hands and tried to kick Itachi yet again, but as she expected, he dodge and she merely landed on her feet. Sakura quickly blocked Itachi's responding punch. Sakura then moved to block his intended kick, but the kick turned out to be a feint. Sakura didn't even see him move to punch her, because the next thing she knew was that she was flying.

Sakura hit the ground and skid backwards. Even though her back was now on fire with pain, Sakura ignored it and let her momentum help her do a backwards roll that ended with her once again on her feet. By this point, Sakura was breathing hard, but she kept her senses around her. She had been thrown into the clearing that they had fought in last time. Sakura would have said that that was lucky, because it meant that she hadn't been thrown into a tree (especially considering the last tree she ran into had broken a number of her ribs), but she knew luck had nothing to do with it (and that if it had, the tree incident probably would have been repeated). Itachi had once again gone easy on her.

Sakura stood in the clearing, breathing hard and trying to find out where Itachi had disappeared to. For he _had _disappeared. He wasn't attacking her straight off…but why?

* * *

Now it was _Itachi's _turn to watch _Sakura _from a tree. She was tiring out, that much was obvious. She was breathing heavily after their intense battle. Her skid had torn some of the skin from her back and she was now bleeding, though she apparently didn't notice. He knew that her arm would be hurting her by now, and he was glad he had decided not to add to her pain by punching her in the direction of the trees rather than the clearing.

He had to say, she had done very well, given the circumstances. It's true that, if he'd wanted to, he could have ended their battle much earlier, many times over; but if he had done that, she wouldn't have been satisfied, so he had held back. She wouldn't be happy about _that _either, but then again, she'd forget that she was holding back too…it's just that her holding back wasn't her choice, but the choice of their Master and his Jutsu.

She wouldn't be able to go on much longer…but he knew her. She wouldn't quit unless the end of the battle was obvious. He'd have to wrap this up soon, then. Sakura wasn't a poor looser, she'd accept her defeat and she would learn from it, but she wouldn't quit until she was certain that the battle had reached its end. That's just the way she was.

Well then, it was time to end this…she wouldn't even notice his attack until she had already lost to it…

* * *

As Sakura waited she thought through things…so far she hadn't been able to try her plan, the opportunity hadn't arisen. And now she was stuck here, waiting for Itachi to attack. She could go back into the forest, but she was sure that Itachi was watching her, so doing so would merely give him a way to get closer to her without her noticing. But as it was, she was still a sitting duck, not that she could do much about it.

She knew the battle would probably end soon, but she wanted to at least _attempt _to enact her plan. But the way things were going she wouldn't get to. In order for her plan to work, she'd have to be aware of where he was attacking from, and…Sakura mentally growled. How was she supposed to even figure out where he was going to attack from, let alone the other main part of the plan?

Mentally Sakura was kicking a wall. She couldn't sense where Itachi was at all; he was too good at hiding his presence! What good was having Chakra if she couldn't use it? Oh, sure, she could heal herself, but if she did that, she knew that Itachi would attack while her guard was down, which would make healing herself pointless. It was almost as bad as when she'd not had her Chakra at all! It-

The memory of having had no Chakra gave Sakura an idea. When she had had no Chakra, she hadn't been able to feel anyone else's Chakra let alone her own….that was something that wasn't normal. That was something that…she could learn from…

Sakura closed her eyes and stopped trying to sense Itachi, since that was pointless. Sakura ignored all her senses as she focused on a feeling she now remembered that she hadn't noticed when it had originally happened. Sakura immersed herself in her lack of perception, and soon, she was so numb to the outside world that she couldn't even feel her own Chakra, but then again, that was what she wanted.

It was uncomfortable, just as immersing yourself in ice-cold water was uncomfortable, but unlike the time when her Chakra had been 'locked away' from her, there was something comforting about it as well. It was almost as if she were wrapped in a protective blanket from head to toe: it restricted her movements and her senses, but it gave her something equally needed in return.

Sakura couldn't really explain it, but somehow, being immersed in this lack of perception…made her feel…more…

…

**THERE!**

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she reacted before she even knew she was reacting. Sakura wasn't aware of what was happening as it was happening, but nonetheless she knew what was happening. She had enacted her plan without even noticing she had…

...and it all happened in the blink of an eye.

* * *

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Another evil cliffy! (I'm sorry, but really, I've got to end it there. Do you think I'd pass up such a perfect opportunity?) But don't worry, next chapter there is no cliffhanger, because next chapter is my 'conformist' chapter to Wolf-Chan's demands.

I hoped it was all right. I tried to write a fight scene, and at first I just couldn't do it! So I took a break and watched some action anime on TV, and I came back and was able to write the rest of this (hopefully) awesome fight scene.

I have put up a poll on my profile, so go see it and vote!

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile), but flames shall be immersed in ice-cold water! Now onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, Rangerette, bubbleyum, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, Selene98, Sakimi1014, sara1965, XXRedWolfXX, magickbendingdemon, akatsuki's hikari, sakura-angel113, Emo Marionette Bella-chan, Jax9, NightWing101, megan (thank you), aznkitty180, SnowSkadi, Itachi4Eva, Star Fata, Cster, Shoujo x, xokatherine229, Hao'sAnjul, Cute-killer-Gurl, Aishiteru Aizen, silverstorm16, Taki-kun (I believe that Gomenasi is one word), Crazedchocolatefan, LaReSaKa, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Gothic Saku-chan, luckyazn, I-Love-Akatsuki, Aiko U. Akane HELL YEAH, hippi926840, LadySakuraForest (yeah, I put people in the order they review, so the first person on the list is the first person who reviewed and so on and so forth), MoonIdiot, DragonMaster Reborn, dark Alley, Sui-chan, CosenAngel, & sammyamber123, for reviewing!


	21. Miscalculations

Disclaimer: Wolf-Chan's getting on my case about my non-disclaiming disclaimers, so: I. Do. Not. Own!

**Chapter 21: Miscalculations**

_...and it all happened in the blink of an eye_.

It was as if time held still as the dust settled to reveal Sakura and Itachi at each others' throats…literally. Itachi's outstretched hand was wrapped lightly around Sakura's neck. Sakura's arm stretched up and her fingertips were pointed at Itachi's neck, but there was one problem…"_I miscalculated…_"

Sakura was the first one to move as she slowly lowered her arm. It was obvious that Itachi had won…again…but…'_Shoot, I was _this close_! How could I have miscalculated that little detail? UG!_' Sakura mentally bashed her head against a wall, '_How could I miscalculate the differences in our reach!?! I was this close, _this close_! And I blew it! GYAAAA!_'

* * *

As Sakura continued her inner rant, Itachi lowered his hand. But Itachi wasn't free from thoughts either…it's just that his thoughts were more orderly and calm. '_How unusual…I miscalculated…_' Itachi watched as Sakura moved her hand up to rub her neck as if he had hurt her, though he knew he hadn't. In doing so, though, she noticed (apparently for the first time) that her back was bleeding from her previous skid. 

As Itachi watched Sakura heal herself, his thought process continued, '_…She shouldn't have been able to do that…She shouldn't have been able to sense me coming, let alone be able to have time to counter attack…How did she do it…I wonder…_' Itachi eyed Sakura carefully as her skin began to knit itself back together.

She was in no condition to be able to do what she did, so how she'd done it was a mystery to him…but, '_She pulled a number of muscles with that last maneuver. Her body's not used to moving at that speed…technically it should have been physically impossible for her to have moved like that, considering how beat up and tired she had been…and considering that she had let down her guard right before I attacked. Yet somehow she did…_'

Itachi let a small smile creep onto his face. It was miniscule, but it was there as he thought, '_That's Sakura for you…you think you have her figured out, then she goes and proves you wrong. That's something that obviously hasn't changed…she's still the only one who I can read like a book, and yet be unable to know what she will do next. She's so predictable, that she's unpredictable. She's a contradiction in and of herself…_'

* * *

As Sakura healed herself she calmed down over her miscalculation. Instead of yelling at herself for messing up, she decided to look over her plan to see where it'd gone wrong. She had thought she'd calculated everything in, even their differences in reach, so where had she gone wrong? 

The original plan had included two main aspects that she needed. One: she needed to know where Itachi was going to attack her from (and preferably how, though that wasn't a necessity) and Two: she needed him to underestimate her and because of that be caught off guard by her. But for most of the fight she only had one or the other, not both.

And then she had remembered something, something she hadn't originally noticed. Back when she had had no Chakra, she had felt completely cut off. She hadn't been able to sense anything that she had normally been able to sense. But she had been so…focused…on trying to sense the things she normally was able to sense, that she didn't notice. She didn't notice something that had appeared, something new. But during their fight, she had suddenly remembered what she hadn't noticed.

For what she had noticed was, in a way, a new sense, but at the same time, it was something that she'd always had. It was kind of like when someone has a blindfold put on them. Their sight is completely cut off, but their body will try to compensate by paying more attention to the other senses. What had happened to her was much the same, only at an elevated level.

She had lost her Chakra. She had no longer been able to sense things that she never before realized she had been noticing as well as the things she had known she was noticing. She suddenly couldn't feel other peoples Chakra, but that wasn't the biggest thing; after all, she was used to people's Chakra, like Itachi's, disappearing from her 'radar'. No, what the biggest thing was, was that she had suddenly not been able to feel _her own_ Chakra.

No one ever notices how much they notice their own Chakra. Even when you hide your Chakra signature, it's still there, and you still are dully aware of it. But when her Chakra had been 'locked away', she'd been unable to notice her own Chakra at all. And though she hadn't noticed it at the time, she had been 'compensated' for her lack of…_Chakra senses_.

At the time, she had thought she had noticed Itachi and Kisame because her eye just happened to catch sight of their movement…but that hadn't been the case. Her eyes hadn't caught sight of their movement by luck (which hated her), but because something had drawn her eyes to them without her noticing. Now she knew what that something was.

What had drawn her eyes to them was that she unconsciously 'sensed' them. Not their Chakra, but something else, something that nobody could completely hide…because they weren't completely aware of it themselves. And that was, as best as she could describe it, their _presence_. Everyone has a presence…it was probably a mixture of things like Chakra, attitude, ability, and so on and so forth…but everyone had it, and that was the main thing.

It could be hidden…but covering an object up doesn't make it disappear, it just makes it harder to know what it is…the same thing could be said about presence. You can cover it up, but it still exists. You can hide it away, but if you get too used to hiding something well…you tend to end up believing that no one will ever find it, so even you begin to forget about it. It's safe, it cannot be found…you become comfortable, and you end up forgetting that what is hidden may be found...that what is covered and forgotten, may be noticed and figured out.

Long story short, Sakura decided, she had noticed Itachi's well-hidden-but-not-invisible presence, and she had noticed it because a part of her presence was missing. Because she hadn't been able to sense herself, something she never really noticed she had always been sensing before, she had 'sensed' a part of Itachi and Kisame's presence. It was kind of like everyone wore a semi-transparent blindfold that only let in certain colors.

Because everyone was wearing the same blindfold, no one noticed that they weren't seeing things as clearly as they could. But for her, the blindfold had been slightly loosened. Suddenly new colors were slipping in through small gaps that hadn't been there before, but at the same time, parts of the blindfold were now overlapping each other, making it even harder to see through. For every give there was a take…for every action there was an equal and opposite reaction.

Once Sakura had remembered how she'd 'sensed' Itachi before, she'd decided to try it again; after all, there was nothing to lose and plenty to gain. If she could sense him coming at her, she'd be able to react. She'd known that she'd have to move very quickly to counter in time, since Itachi would most likely now be coming at her at near--if not at--top speed, so that he could end their battle quickly. She also knew that that kind of speed wouldn't come easy or without a price, and that it still might not be enough to match up against Itachi...but she had to try.

She had then quickly recalculated her plan as she sank into her 'ice cold' lack of perception…that would hopefully help her perceive something she otherwise wouldn't perceive. As everything else had begun to fade away, something else had begun to appear. Sakura had concentrated on it, but then it was suddenly moving. It all happened so suddenly, so quickly, that Sakura's brain hadn't been able to keep up.

But her brain hadn't needed to keep up, because she already (unconsciously) knew what she had to do. Her mind had felt a thousand steps behind what was happening around her, but her body hadn't. Without knowing it, she had somehow 'programmed' her body to do what she wanted, even though she wasn't able to follow what it was doing as it was doing it.

It was a reaction, simple as that. She hadn't _acted against _the stimuli, she had merely _reacted to _the stimuli. Reactions take no conscious thought, and that was why it had worked. It was the same as when you touch something hot and automatically pull your hand back. You don't think '_That's hot; I should pull my hand back before it begins to blister_', that would take too long. That's why it's an automatic reaction. You unconsciously know what's happening and react to it before you are consciously aware of what's just happened.

It had been her automatic reaction that had enabled Sakura to enact her plan, but she now knew that it was also responsible, in a way, for causing her plan to fail. She hadn't miscalculated the differences in their reach…in a way, she hadn't miscalculated anything at all. What had gone wrong was that, since her mind couldn't keep up with her actions, she couldn't adjust small details in time for it to have any effect.

Sakura sighed as she came out of her healing, almost trance-like state. '_After_ _all that planning…after all that effort…I still failed…like always._' Sakura looked down at her hands as one discouraging thought led to another, '_I always fail…I failed to stop Sasuke from leaving…I failed to get strong enough to bring him back…I failed to stop Itachi from killing his clan…I failed to figure out that I couldn't change time…I failed to be there for Konoha when it was being attacked…I failed…to become more than the weakest link…_'

Sakura mentally slapped herself, '_Thinking like that's not going to help any! I know I'm the weakest link…but I'm trying to change that! So what if I failed this time, I now know something that I didn't know before! I may have lost this time, but next time could be different! I want to get stronger, but I should know better than to expect it to happen in a day, 'cause that's not going to happen. The best things take time!_'

Even after all that, though, Sakura still had a heavy heart. She had still failed so many times before, why should it change now? That thought brought Sakura a memory from long ago, of something Naruto had once said to Neji. When she remembered that, she couldn't stop herself from giving a weak laugh. You know things are bad when you're putting yourself and Naruto in the same boat.

* * *

Itachi watched as Sakura finished healing herself and then just started staring at her hands, obviously getting lost in thought. When she laughed weakly, Itachi decided to bring her back to reality, "What was the laugh for?" Sakura jumped, apparently he'd startled her. She quickly returned her hands to her side and looked up at him, a blush on her face. 

"I just remembered something, that's all…" Itachi just raised an eyebrow. Sakura knew what that meant, so he didn't waste words in telling her to go into detail. But to his surprise, her face dropped a little and she turned away. She didn't look at him as she began to speak, "I remembered something from back when I was a Gennin…during my first Chunin exam…well…I already had failed the exam by this time, but…both my teammates were still in it…"

Sakura paused, then continued, "For the last part of the exam, Naruto had to face Neji…and I was just…reminded…of something that was said during that battle. Naruto had just gotten back up after Neji had beaten him down…more than once…and Neji had asked him why he kept getting up when he was destined to lose…when he knew he was a failure. And Naruto answered…because someone had **told** him he was a failure."

Sakura gave another small, weak, laugh, and then said, "Then, after Naruto had turned the tables and beaten Neji, he told him something around the lines of 'I'm a failure, but even a failure can succeed if he tries hard enough…but you, you aren't a failure, so don't act like one'. Those weren't his exact words, but that was the basic meaning of them, and…"

Sakura gave another, even weaker and possibly sadder, laugh as she started walking towards the branch where her robe was hung, "and…I couldn't help but think that he and I were so much alike…Neji had said 'once a failure, always a failure', but Naruto proved him wrong. He showed Neji that even a failure could succeed…Naruto and I were both so alike, especially back then…we were both weak failures. I don't know when it was exactly that Naruto began to change, but he started to get stronger, and as he got stronger, he failed less and less. But I…oh, I've changed, but, I'm still a worthless failure who's so wea--"

Sakura was cut off when Itachi suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around roughly. Sakura gulped, she had forgotten whom it was she was talking to and how frightening he could be when he was angry. Itachi was glaring at her and his anger weighed down on her, almost like a physical pressure.

"That's _enough_, Sakura. I don't want to hear you call yourself _worthless _ever again." Sakura couldn't stop herself from trying to shrink back at the harshness in his voice. Alas, he was still holding her shoulders, so she didn't really go anywhere. He wasn't truly yelling at her because his volume hadn't really changed from normal…but the way he was saying it still made Sakura feel like she was being yelled at; and it both frightened and saddened her at the same time.

Itachi let the pause continue, and some of the frightening atmosphere dissipated. Itachi loosened his grip on Sakura's shoulders, but didn't let go. Instead he locked eyes with her before he continued speaking, "As to the rest of that…do you think that a 'worthless, weak, failure', would have even been able to have keep up with me back there?" He waited, and finally Sakura reluctantly shook her head no.

Itachi continued, "Do you think a 'worthless, weak, failure' would have been able to end that battle in a draw?"

Sakura shook her head no immediately. Itachi was about to continue, but then Sakura said, "But we didn't tie, I lost. If that had been real, I'd have been dead before I could do anything about it."

Itachi stared at Sakura, she had completely missed the reality of what had happened back there. "If that had been real, we could have both been dead." Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but he purposefully interrupted, "If that had been real, you'd have had your Chakra, and if we ignore everything up to the part where we came to a stand-still, we'd have been on equal ground. I could have cut off your air supply or broken your neck, but you could have cut my throat with a Chakra scalpel. So in the end, we were truly at a draw, end of story."

Now it was Sakura who was staring at him, but he didn't mind. Sakura was a genius, as was he, but sometimes even geniuses could overlook the obvious for reading too deeply into it. But he could see that now that he had pointed it out to her, she was beginning to put the pieces together to get the same picture he'd already seen. Hopefully this would bring an end to her inferiority complex…and if it didn't…well, he had more than enough evidence and patience to show her that she wasn't a 'worthless, weak, failure'.

Sakura continued to stare up at him, but he noticed that her eyes had glazed over…she had become lost in thought…_again_. That was truly what worried him most about her. When she got lost in thought or concentrated on one specific thing (such as a book or healing herself), she became oblivious to the outside world, and that put her in danger. But as long as he was around, he would be able to protect her from those dangers.

'_Besides,_' Itachi thought, a small smirk on his face, '_that's one of the things I love about her._'

* * *

There, I hope you're happy. I had to cut off the ending (about two hundred words) I wanted to give so that I wouldn't give you a cliffy (I'm conforming to Wolf-Chan's demands once again, just like in my disclaimer. -goes off into a corner to pout-). 

There is a poll on my profile if you want to vote on who Yuri's subordinate will be. I'll leave it open until tomorow the 16th.

Well, just to warn you, I may not/probably won't be able to give you all the next chapter on the 23 or the 29, due to Holiday things (If I can, I will update, but the posibility is slim). I'm also not going to be able to type the next chapter today because my dad needs the computer, and he's given me 10 minutes to do what it takes to update _this_ chapter. I hope you like it...and at least you won't be hanging off a cliffhanger for two weeks. So be happy.

Oh, and because I'm rushed to do this all in 10 minutes, I'm not going to be able to read through it for spelling mess-ups, so if you see any, please write in and tell me what it was.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, which there is a link to on my profile), but flamers will have to deal with an angry Itachi. Now, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Sakimi1014, Quiet Moon, SnowSkadi, magickbendingdemon, Selene98, bubbleyum (well, the way I see it, he gives her more credit than she gives herself), sammyamber123, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Rangerette, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, sakura-angel113, xokatherine229, Blue-SouledKunoichi, akatsuki's hikari, NightWing101, xMissxPepperx, C.SasuSaku.W, 43InuAsha, CosenAngel, Crazy Neko Girl, I-Love-Akatsuki, Chrisomu, luckyazn, LilBitzer, Taki-kun (very funny!), Kinomi-chan, Crazedchocolatefan, aznkitty180, Hao'sAnjul (hey, at least there wasn't a cliffy this time), SpeedDemon315, emo marionette bella-chan, Megan, Gothic Saku-chan, LadySakuraForest, Kenji Hino, urascoldaswater, & Alone in a Blizzard for reviewing!


	22. Unexplained Explanations

Disclaimer: Hmm…what do you think?

**AN**: If you have a hard time understanding the first part of this chapter, go back and read the end of the previous chapter. It may be confusing becase originally this was a part of the previous chapter, but I cut it off and added it to this chapter so that I wodn't give you a cliffy last time.

**Chapter 22: Unexplained Explanations**

_Sakura continued to stare up at him, but he noticed that her eyes had glazed over…she had become lost in thought…again. That was truly what worried him most about her. When she got lost in thought or concentrated on one specific thing (such as a book or healing herself), she became oblivious to the outside world, and that put her in danger. But as long as he was around, he would be able to protect her from those dangers._

'Besides,_'_ _Itachi thought, a small smirk on his face, _'that's one of the things I love about her._' _

Itachi then proceeded to bend down and kiss Sakura gently on the lips. To his amusement (and expectation) it took her a few moments to even notice he was kissing her, and when she did, her face turned bright red.

Itachi broke the kiss and reached behind Sakura to the branch where her robe hung. He pulled it off the branch and wrapped it around her shoulders because she had begun to shiver…but he had a feeling it wasn't entirely from the cold. It was just a guess, but he had a feeling that, now that the shock of everything had passed, the memories of her past…of her Gennin team…were making here heart hurt.

Itachi pulled Sakura to his chest and just held her as she shook. She didn't start crying, but he knew she was sad; sad because she was missing Konoha, sad because she was missing her best friend, that Naruto kid…and sad because she missed her old Gennin team.

As Itachi held Sakura, a dark thought entered his head. He had caught her muttered 'I miscalculated' when the dust had first settled, but he had miscalculated too (which didn't happen often)…but at least his miscalculation today hadn't hurt Sakura, but…

'_I'm going to have to do something about _that _miscalculation…it's a danger to Sakura…_' Sakura stepped back and mumbled something that sounded like 'thanks'. '_But not right now…she'll be safe as long as she's here…_'

* * *

That night Sakura laid in bed, lost in thought. By the time she had gotten to her cousins' room, Tobi was gone and the twin's didn't know where he'd gone to. So she'd have to wait to confront him about his lack of healing skills. If her thought process was correct…well, she wouldn't know for sure until she questioned him more, but…the way things were going, it looked like she would be having a fourth student soon. 

Sakura sighed and rolled onto her right side as more thoughts came. '_Tobi's not the only thing I have to worry about. Well, it's not so much worry as thinking, but…I wonder what Junko wrote. How did she know Yuri? How did she know about the broken ribs? How was she able to tell Yuri what to do? And…what was with her mood swings?_'

Sakura flipped back over as she decided that maybe she'd ask Noya if he knew at all what Junko had written. Maybe she'd also ask them to tell her more about Hoshi culture. After all, Junko had surprised her greatly today with how she'd acted towards first her cousins, and then towards Sakura herself. If Sakura could help it, she'd prefer not to be taken by surprise again.

Sakura stared up at where she knew the ceiling would be, even though she couldn't see it in the darkness. There were so many things to think about, but she also needed to sleep. Sakura closed her eyes, but this time images and thoughts of Konoha came to her mind. How were her friends? Were they wondering where she was? Had Tsunade figured out that she'd had to use The Scroll of the Circle? Did anyone even know the Akatsuki was holding her?

Sakura remembered the vision she'd had about Konoha being attacked and she felt her stomach clench as new worries swarmed her. '_How is everyone? Do they need my help rebuilding or healing? Isn't there anything I can do to help them…even though I'm stuck here?_' With these troubling thoughts, Sakura fell asleep…and she dreamed.

_

* * *

Sakura was in the Hokage's office, as was Tsunade who was reading a scroll, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. There was a knock at the door and Tsunade raised her voice and said without removing her eyes from the scroll, "Come in!" Sakura turned to look at the door as it opened to reveal Neji. He walked into the room, right through Sakura (who apparently couldn't bee seen or felt in this dream), until he was standing in front of Tsunade's desk. He bowed, then waited in silence for Tsunade to look up from her scroll._

_Tsunade finally looked up, though she didn't put the scroll down, and said, "Yes, Neji? What is it? I've already received your mission report…in fact, that's what I'm reading now."_

_Neji's calm, bland, voice answered, "I have something to tell you that happened during the mission that I didn't put in the report due to the fact that it was unrelated to the mission."_

_Tsunade raised an eyebrow and laid the scroll down. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest as she said, "Very well, what do you have to report?"_

_Neji paused a moment before he answered, "It has to do with Sakura."_

_Tsunade suddenly sat up straight, "What…?" Her voice trailed off and Neji waited another moment before he answered._

"_On our return from our mission, we passed along the top of a cliff, and there we saw what appeared to be a burn mark on the ground composed of exactly thirty-eight smaller, coma like, marks. We paused long enough to study the mark in case it was of some importance…I touched the mark…and I remembered something from long ago…"_

The dream faded out, and an unknown amount of time later, faded back in.

_

* * *

Tsunade was rubbing her temples as she said, "I see…tell me, Neji…" She paused as she reached into a pile of scrolls and pulled out one that for some reason looked familiar to Sakura, "was the mark you'd seen," she opened the scroll and handed it to Neji, "this one?" Sakura looked over Neji's shoulder and saw that the mark on the paper was (as she guessed it would be) the same one that was on her arm. _

_Neji nodded and returned the scroll to Tsunade and said, "Yes, except that it wasn't that large. As I said, there were only thirty-eight marks." He paused then asked, "What do you know about this mark, other than what I've told you?"_

_Tsunade rolled up the scroll and put it back into the pile before she spoke, "There's not too much more for me to tell you, but…Kakashi, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sai are the ones who brought this to me…Sai's the one who did the sketch. They've been checking on the mark about once a week, and we've noticed that it's been getting smaller and smaller as the weeks progress."_

"_I have had my suspicions as to what the mark was, though I wasn't certain…but from what you've told me, I can now say for sure…Sakura used the present I gave her…and is now back in the past. You said you remembered seeing her when you were six…so that would be when she is…"_

_Tsunade trailed off and didn't continue. Finally Neji asked, "Do you know why I only just remembered this, Lady Hokage? Has Kakashi or Naruto or anyone else said they've remember things about her?"_

_Tsunade didn't answer right away, but finally she muttered, "No, but…I wonder…" She trailed off again and didn't speak for agonizing minutes. Finally she looked up at Neji and said in a solid voice, "I need to do some research…Neji, I want you to keep this to yourself for now. I'll send for you, and anyone else I need, once I've finished researching what I need to…That is all, you may go." Neji bowed and left the room._

Once again the dream faded away for a while before returning again.

_

* * *

The room swam once again into view. Tsunade was at her desk, but this time Neji wasn't the only other person in the room. Besides Neji, Hinata, Ino, Naruto, Kakashi, and even the sand siblings were there. Tsunade was speaking to them, "…so now that you know about that, I have a side mission for you to do while you escort the Kazekage and his siblings back to Sand. I want you all to go to the mark and touch it, to see what happens."_

_Ino raised her hand and asked, "What is it that is supposed to happen when we touch it? How does this mark connect to Sakura's disappearance, Lady Tsunade?"_

_Tsunade answered carefully, "I can't say for sure what will happen, and I can't tell you what I think might happen, lest that interfere with what I need you to find out. As to how it's connected to Sakura…well, all I can tell you right now is that it may be a mark left by a scroll I gave her to use as a last resort. Are there any more questions? No? Well, then the five of you are to report on what you and those you're escorting have learned when you return. You are dismissed."_

The dream faded out and later back in again.

_

* * *

The door was closing as someone left the Hokage's office, leaving only Tsunade and Shizune. Tsunade was at her desk, but not for long. She soon stood up and went to a window to look out. As her hand rested on the windowpane, her eyes looked out at Konoha, but were unseeing. Sakura walked up behind her, but knew that Tsunade couldn't tell she was there; after all, this was only a dream._

_Tsunade then spoke to Shizune quietly, as if she had a hard time believing what she was saying, "She really is in the past…I guess that means I was right when I guessed that she was a Hoshi." Tsunade leaned her forehead against the window and mumbled, "The Scroll of the Circle…everything seems to have to do with it…" Tsunade turned away from the window, but didn't sit down at her desk. Instead she started pacing as she continued to think out loud._

"_It's just like with The Scroll of the Circle…the only ones who remembered were Neji, Hinata, and Gaara…the Hyuugas and the Kage…just like The Scroll…The Scroll of the Circle could only be used by four groups of people, so maybe only those same four groups of people could touch the mark and remember as well…"_

_Tsunade stopped pacing and went back to the window, "Neji told me about how he'd met Sakura. He also told me about how she became friends with Hinata's late mother… which obviously pointed to the fact that Hinata would have met Sakura in the past. He told me about how he once happened to see Sakura save Ino from drowning, though she didn't see him…and I didn't need Neji to tell me that it would be almost impossible for Naruto to _not _have met Sakura."_

__

Shizune's voice inquired from behind Sakura, "So that's why you sent Neji, Hinata, Ino and Naruto…but why the Sand siblings and Kakashi?"

_Tsunade sighed, then continued, "Neji had also said that Sakura had 'become' a ninja while she was there…so I looked through the records…and found some odd things…records that appeared to have water damage that made certain names and events unreadable, mysteriously missing information on who all participated in important missions, like being bodyguards to the Kazekage's children…"_

_Tsunade paused and scanned the scene of Konoha before she continued in a quiet voice, "I was able to piece together that she was teamed with Kakashi and…Itachi Uchiha." Sakura heard Shizune stifled a gasp, though Tsunade either didn't hear it, or didn't react to it. _

_Tsunade looked at her hand and said sadly, "I'm sorry, Sakura…wherever you are…I never meant to put you in a situation like that…" Tsunade turned away from the window as she said so quietly that Sakura almost missed it, "It must have hurt you so much, to be put together with_ him_…I'm sorry…so sorry…"_

The dream faded again…but it would be a longer time before the next dream appeared.

_

* * *

Sakura automatically knew where she was, at least to a point. This was a familiar dream. It was in color like the previous dreams, but it was made of duller colors, like the one other time she'd had this dream._

_Sakura knew she was in the Akatsuki's hideout again. As before, she didn't know where she was exactly, but she was once again walking down the hall as if she knew where she was and where she was going. Sakura walked determinedly through the hallways and down random staircases. Once again Sakura felt as if she needed to hurry._

_Sakura wasn't in control of her body, but it didn't matter, her body moved anyway. She walked faster and faster. By the time she reached an area that Sakura actually recognized, she was practically running. Sakura rushed down what she knew would be the last flight of stairs and zigzagged through the halls as quickly as she could._

_She came to a sudden halt a few steps away from a door that looked like every other door. But of course, Sakura knew that this was the same door she'd dreamed about before. Sakura's heart beat fast as she stepped closer to the door. Why was her heart beating fast? Was it because of the run? No, it was something else. Was she afraid of what was behind the door? No…yes…sorta…_

_Sakura's hand reached out for the handle without Sakura's telling it to. As before, an odd sensation hit Sakura as she touched the handle. It increased as she pressed on the handle, trying to make it turn. What did she think was behind the door?_

_The handle finally turned after momentarily acting like it had been locked. The moment the handle turned, the sensation flared, then melted into the background. Sakura pressed her weight against the door to make it open. She couldn't think of what was behind the door, but she knew she had to get to it. Something in her, some knowledge she couldn't make out in this dream, was making her panic. She had to open this door, even if…_

* * *

Sakura's eyes shot open. Her heart was pounding again, but like before she wasn't scared…not really, anyways…it was more like she was anticipating something…but what was she anticipating? Was it good or was it bad? Why was she so desperate to make the door open? And possibly the biggest question: what was with this door… 

…and _why_ was it haunting her dreams?

* * *

There, and we're back to the door and the cliffhangers (well, it's kind of a cliffhanger, anyways). People wanted more info on if Konoha knew about what had happened and who remembered her…so now you know. 

Be happy I updated even though I didn't have to (I can update because I've managed to write another chapter, so yay). I'll try to update every Satuday again, but just as a warning, I have finals coming up, so I may end up being too busy...but I'll try.

I have a question: does anyone think I should change this from being a Romance/General to a Romance/somthing else? Review and tell me.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile), but flamers shall be kicked out into the sleet and snow to cool off. Now onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, Selene98, Emo Marionette Bella-chan, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, Rangerette, magickbendingdemon, shadowfox908, CosenAngel, Sakimi1014, xMissxPepperx (pretty much it was a natural ability that anyone could do if they could figure it out), xokatherine229 (You missunderstood me, I had 10 minutes to upload it to fanfic and put in all the authors notes and such before I posted it up for all to read. I already had the chapter itself written), sakura-angel113, cherryredblossom, Hao'sAnjul, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, animal.cracker.assassinator, Crazy Neko Girl, Jay95, Crazedchocolatefan, NightWing101, LovelyLittleAngel144, akatsuki's hikari, Kinomi-chan, Star Fata, Confuzzled239, Jax9, Itachi4Eva (I'm glad you apreciate that), aznkitty180, hippi926840, sammyamber123, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, luckyazn, LilBitzer, Gothic Saku-chan, chester-roxs, LadySakuraForest (yes, Sasuke will eventually be brought into the story), I-Love-Akatsuki, DragonMaster Reborn, lil'kit CC, SpeedDemon315, xxBloodyxDreamzxx, dark Alley, LaReSaKa, Cster, Alone in a Blizzard, Starlight - Wild Koneko, Kenji Hino, mah lil vixen777, AMI-CHAN, & 43InuAsha for reviewing!


	23. Plans and Worries

Disclaimer: If I'm writing on this site…then what does that mean? Hm?

**Chapter 23: Plans and Worries**

That morning Sakura woke up early, her head abuzz with thoughts of the dreams she'd had and of what she planed to get done today. One of the top things on her mind was the door. She'd dreamt about it another six times before finally deciding to just get up rather than go back to sleep.

Sakura quickly took a shower and got dressed. When she was ready, she opened the door out of her room and found Itachi standing on one side of the door and Tobi leaning against the wall on the other side of the door…apparently asleep on his feet. Sakura covered a smile as she stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her. Unfortunately the sound of the door closing, quiet though it was, echoed through the hall and Tobi jerked awake, mumbling incoherently.

When Tobi's eye landed on Sakura, he straightened suddenly and said sleepily, "Tobi wasn't sleeping…(yawn)". Sakura raised her eyebrow quizzically…that wasn't convincing at all. Tobi yawned again, then lowered his head almost as if he were a child caught napping (and in a way he was) and admitted, "Tobi's sorry, Miss Sakura…(yawn) Tobi's not a morning person (yawn)."

"It's ok, Tobi, I understand…I'm normally not a morning person either…I just happened to wake up early today." Tobi nodded his head, but Sakura figured that he hadn't really heard her, because he looked like he was about to go back to sleep. Sakura shook her head, then turned to look up at Itachi and said, "I know I'm probably too early to eat breakfast, so I can wait 'til later and eat with my cousins…but I have a request."

Itachi nodded and Sakura continued, "Could you show me the way to and from my cousins' room, however many times it takes for me to memorize the way?" Sakura tried not to rush but at the same time speak quickly enough to not let Itachi interrupt her, "I know I'm always going to be with someone, but I want to know how to get there myself, just in case I end up being with someone who doesn't know the way."

As Sakura said that, though, she was really thinking, '_I want to know the way incase I end up being with only Deidara…seeing as he'd be more likely to lead me on a wild-goose-chase than to show me the right way._' there was also another reason why Sakura wanted to memorize this path, but she wasn't planning to tell even Itachi; because for some reason, she got the feeling that if she told Itachi, then what she planned to try would be shot down before it had even begun.

Itachi looked at Sakura in silence for a few agonizing moments, then he nodded and took her hand. Itachi led her through the halls at a slow pace while Tobi followed behind them like a sleepwalker. By the time Sakura got to her cousins' door, she had lost track of the exact directions…this place was like a maze. Sakura listened at her cousins' door and heard snoring, and decided that she should have time to go to her room and back again before they woke up. Hopefully this time she'd get the rout memorized.

* * *

As Yuri walked down the hall with the tray of food for Sakura and her cousins' breakfast, her mind returned to what had happened when she'd told Pein that she had important information that she had to speak to their Master about. He'd automatically gotten a hold of their Master via hologram… 

_Their Master's hologram flickered into existence and his voice asked roughly, "What is it, Pein, Yuri?"_

_Yuri bowed to the hologram before she spoke, "Master, something happened today while we were outside…something I know you would want to know." Yuri paused, but her Master didn't say or do anything other than stand there emotionlessly, so she continued, "You know that Sakura's male Hoshi cousin is a Spirit Walker…well, a spirit talked to Sakura today through him, and…"_

_Yuri pulled out the letter addressed to her master and showed it to him, her head bowed down respectfully as she said, "She wrote this for you, and she told me to tell you 'to pay more attention to what you're doing, and that you hurt Sakura with your Jutsu'. If you like we could read it to you, or--"_

_The Master interrupted Yuri suddenly, in an odd tone of voice, "Who wrote it, Yuri? Who wrote it?"_

_Yuri kept her head down so that she wouldn't have to see her Master's face look the way she knew it would look, "Sakura's mother, Master…"_

_It was Pein, not their Master, who exclaimed, "What?! But that--"_

"_Quiet, Pein." their master ordered sternly, and then turned to Yuri, "So…Junko spoke with her…and wrote that." It wasn't a question, but Yuri nodded her head in answer anyways, but kept her eyes fixated on the floor. _

_Their master stayed silent as he turned around so his back was facing them. Finally he ordered quietly, but not without force, "You two are to deliver the letter to me…in person. Pein, you know where to find me, and how long it will take. Leave tomorrow at sunrise. I'll be waiting." Without another word, the hologram flickered off._

_Yuri didn't move from where she stood as she continued to stare at the floor. She hadn't been able to bring herself to look at his face…after all, she knew what she'd see, and…she didn't want to see it. She hated this, it just wasn't right. The dead should stay dead, and not interfere with the living! That w--_

_A hand on her shoulder made her look up, "Yuri…" Yuri looked up at Pein, though she made sure to not let any emotion show on her face. Pein took a step closer as he said, "You should have told me that Junko was involved before we contacted him. Why didn't you?"_

_Yuri looked away from Pein as she said to the open air, "Because it didn't concern you _or _me…only him…and her."_

_Yuri suddenly found herself spun around by Pein, his hands pressing down heavily on both her shoulders as he growled angrily, "That's a load of hooey, and you know it." Yuri kept her face emotionless and stared over his shoulder rather than look up into his face. _

_Yuri didn't know why she'd said it, she'd known it wasn't a good idea, but she said it anyways, "I know of no such thing. Junko's business with Master does not concern us."_

_Pein's hand jerked Yuri's chin up, forcing her to look him in the eye, "Quit lying Yuri, we both know that if Junko's involved, you're automatically involved as well, whether you want to be or not. You still haven't been able to escape that…_fact_, but you _need _to put it in the past. Get over it, Yuri, and move on with your life."_

_It took all of Yuri's control not to glare up at Pein and yell at him. She couldn't move on, and she knew it. But somehow he must have read her mind because he snapped, "And don't tell me you _can't _move on or that you have _nowhere _to move on to--" then what Yuri feared would happen, did. Pein crushed his lips to hers._

_Yuri stood still and waited for Pein to pull away. She wouldn't fight him, she knew from experience that would only make the situation worse. All there was to do was wait…she didn't like it, but she couldn't escape it either. She wished Pein would just stop pressing the matter…why wouldn't he just let her go on living her life the way she was. Why did he feel he had to change her? She _couldn't _change, it was impossible…why couldn't he figure it out?!_

Yuri shivered at the memory, then ironed out all emotion from her person before she turned the corner that would lead her to Sakura and her cousins. Itachi and Tobi stood on either side of the door. Yuri mentally twitched when she noticed that Tobi was sleeping. "Tobi, wake up." Tobi jumped in surprise, and started to stutter incomprehensibly. "None of your excuses, just open the door; my hands are full." Tobi, of course, rushed to do as she said.

Yuri walked past him and Itachi without a second glance and entered the room. Inuka was pretty much shouting, "I want to go exploring, not read books!" Inuka was standing up, pointing a finger at Hanako who was sitting between Noya and Sakura. Yuri ignored Inuka and looked straight at Sakura and cleared her throat. Sadly Inuka spun around pointing and shrilled, "It's Miss Konan! And _food_!" After that, it took awhile to get Inuka calmed down and quiet (which didn't happen until she was eating).

Once Inuka and the other two were eating, Yuri pulled Sakura over to the side and said so that only she would hear, "Miss Haruno, I must go away for a time. While I am gone, I will have my subordinate, Ayaka, look in on you, bring you food, and so forth. If you need anything, or if anything happens, tell her."

* * *

Once Yuri had left, Sakura settled down to eat with her cousins and let her mind wander. Inuka wanted to go exploring again, while both Noya and Hanako wanted to go back down to the library. All three of them wanted Sakura to teach them some more healing techniques (albeit Inuka didn't want to do any reading about the techniques first), but Sakura wasn't sure that Noya was quite over the side effects of having been possessed. 

Beyond that, she still had to deal with Tobi, but she wanted to speak with him privately first. She could teach him…but there was something odd about his healing ability and what he'd said when she'd asked him where he'd learned how to heal. There were questions she needed him to answer before anything else…but she had the feeling that she wouldn't get a truthful answer unless she was speaking one on one with him.

There was also her secret 'plan' to work on. Hopefully she'd been able to memorize her way from her room to her cousins' room, but that was only the beginning. There were so many more paths she'd have to memorize before her plan had a chance of succeeding. And what would happen after her plan succeeded (if it succeeded at all), what would she do then?

Sakura let these thoughts roll around in her head as she tried to come up with what she should do. There were so many choices, but which were the right ones to make…which would bring about the best scenarios?

By the time Sakura finished eating, she had decided on what it was that she was going to do. First things first, "Ok, you guys, listen up. We'll wait 'til after lunch to resume medic training, that way we'll give Noya some more time to rest." Sakura saw Noya blush out of the corner of her eye, but she expected it. Noya didn't like causing problems for others.

Sakura continued, "Until then, let's take a break from studying and go exploring again. How does that sound?"

Inuka jumped up and down squealing happily, something around the lines of, "Exploring, exploring, we get to go exploring!"

Hanako nodded her head in agreement, "That sound's fine, Lady Sakura…Inuka, sit down and finish eating." Inuka stuck her tongue out at Hanako, but sat down to finish eating anyways. Sakura looked at Noya, and found that he had one hand covering his mouth as if he were trying to hide a smile. But Sakura didn't need to see his mouth to know he was smiling, she could see it in his eyes.

The moment was broken when Inuka slammed down her now empty bowl and stood up saying, "Ok, I'm finished. _Now _can we go exploring?" Sakura smiled and nodded and Inuka turned to Hanako and yelled, "Race you to the door!" She then ran madly for the door. Meanwhile Hanako folded her napkin calmly and stood up. Inuka tripped over a doll she'd left out and fell. Hanako walked right past her and calmly touched the door with one finger.

After that…Inuka blew her top…and the shouting match (that was completely one sided) began for the umpteenth time. As Inuka yelled at Hanako (who made sarcastic remarks that made Inuka yell even more) Sakura turned her attention to Noya and asked, "So, what was it that made you smile?"

Noya removed his hand from his now-normal face and looked at Sakura carefully. Finally he looked over at Inuka and Hanako's catfight and said, "I just noticed how you did your best to please everyone… You made Inuka, the least patient of the three of us, happy by letting us go exploring first. You made me happy by saying you'd let us continue our healing lessons…and you made Hanako happy by making us wait a while before we did so, so I'd have more time to rest without using my Chakra. You're a very good compromiser…that's all."

Sakura was at a loss for words. He was only ten, but Sakura had noticed that he often spoke as if he were much older than that. Maybe it was because he'd been forced to grow up quickly after his clan had been massacred right before his eyes…she didn't know… But he was truly a deep thinker, a quick learner, and he was truly very smart…maybe even a genius…but what price had he had to pay for that to be? She'd seen plenty of geniuses in her time…and they all seemed to be pained greatly by whatever it was they had to do to pay for that genius.

Without looking at her, Noya put his elbow on the table and leaned his head against his hand and said solemnly, "You always find a way to make things turn out the way that the most people want them to. You always try to make other people happy, even when you are not. You smile and say you're fine, even when you're hurting…because you don't like worrying people. But you know what, Lady Sakura…sometimes I think you worry too much about others, and not enough about yourself…"

Noya's voice got quieter as he stood up and started walking towards the twins, "…and that, Lady Sakura, is what truly worries me."

* * *

There, that wouldn't be what I would call a cliffhanger, so be happy. Oh, and I've put a link up to a picture of Yuri's subordinate on my profile. 

I decided I'll post this chap, but I probably won't get to write the next chap (at least today) because my stomach feels bad...it's probably nerves, since finals are next week.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, which there is a link to on my profile), but please, no flames.

Thanks to: Gothic Saku-chan, I-Love-Akatsuki, magickbendingdemon, LilBitzer, Selene98, Quiet Moon, LovelyLittleAngel144, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, CosenAngel, Spirit Seer (I love long reviews, so don't be afraid to send them. If you want to go back and review the other chapters too, that would be fine with me. I perfer reviews to PMs, actually, though if you need to say somthing to me that isn't directly story related, you are welcome to do so through PM's.), AngelicRedWings, sakura-angel113, Megan Elyse, Itachi4Eva, Sakimi1014, XXRedWolfXX, Starlight - Wild Koneko, RyuMiko, Jax9, black55widow, Hao'sAnjul, xokatherine229 (you too), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (fine, thank you. You as well), Jay95, Kinomi-chan, akatsuki's hikari, SnowSkadi, HarmonyRose (thank you, and I'm glad you like it), xxBloodyxDreamzxx, hinata-chan1248 (I'll get to that eventually), lizzpercush (yes, I will, eventually), NightWing101 (don't worry, I love long reviews), changelingchild (things will come at their own pace), SpeedDemon315, aznkitty180, Kittibit Gaara (I'd wondered where you'd dissapeared to), xMissxPepperx, dark Alley, cherryredblossom, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, Crazedchocolatefan, Rangerette, 101naruto1, Cster (thanks, but I still can't tell you what's behind the door), DragonMaster Reborn, 43InuAsha, LadySakuraForest, Taki-kun (you as well), Eri-chan116, & chikarubunny for reviewing!


	24. Tobi

Disclaimer: YAY! I now own another character: Ayaka! Sadly I'll never own the real Naruto characters... T.T ...Deal with it.

**Chapter 24: Tobi**

As they had wandered the halls, Noya had kept his eyes on Sakura. Sakura had been letting Inuka and Hanako drag her around while they 'explored' the maze of halls and doors. Both Inuka and Hanako had looked overjoyed (for all that Hanako pretended that exploring didn't interest her), but Sakura had looked like she was concentrating on something, rather than having fun. Noya wondered what was on her mind.

But Noya had just shrugged, running to catch up with Sakura and the twins before he fell too far behind. Even though he couldn't hear them, Noya had known that Tobi and the Uchiha were right behind him, making sure to keep Sakura in their sights. Tobi was a good enough person, though Noya had no love for the murderer of his clan. But he couldn't bring himself to hate the person who he knew Sakura loved…and it wasn't in a Hoshi's nature to want revenge, so he'd settle for _really _disliking the Uchiha.

Now Noya and the twins were in the library, meditating. Sakura had said that she wanted them to have a chance to calm down after their 'exciting adventure' (as Inuka termed it), but Noya knew that wasn't the only reason she'd had them meditate. Noya opened one eye just a smidge so that he could see Sakura, and as he suspected, she was out of hearing range, talking to Tobi.

As Noya watched, Sakura said something, and Tobi started bowing repeatedly and quickly. Even from this distance, Noya could take a guess as to what was going on. Tobi was probably begging over-enthusiastically for Sakura to forgive him for hurting her the other day. Noya studied Sakura's face, and figured that this was not what she had wanted to happen when she spoke to him.

Noya closed his eye, a small smile on his face. Whatever Sakura wanted, it wasn't for Tobi to apologize, that much was obvious. Whatever they were speaking about, it didn't really matter, because either Sakura would tell them, or she wouldn't, but it was her decision to make. If she decided she didn't want to tell them what she said, then it was her right as The Elder, Pillar, Time Walker, to not tell them, and for them not to ask her to tell them.

Noya tried to focus on meditating, but another thought kept pestering him. When they'd been 'exploring', he'd noticed that Sakura was concentrating on something other than just roaming around and having fun. He couldn't figure out what had been on her mind, though, no matter how hard he tried…and it was bothering him.

After exploring, they'd eventually gone down to the library. Here was where another…odd…thing had happened. When they'd reached the doors to the library, the Uchiha had said that he and Tobi would stand guard outside while they were inside. Sakura shook her head and said that she needed Tobi to show her where a certain book was.

The Uchiha had raised an eyebrow, though the rest of his face stayed the same as it always was. Then Sakura had raised her own eyebrow in return. This was where the odd part had come in. After about a minute of silence, the Uchiha just nodded and ordered Tobi sternly to do what Sakura told him to.

It had been weird to see the Uchiha back down, but it had been the long pause that had really shocked Noya. During the pause, the Uchiha and Sakura had just looked at each other, they hadn't done or said anything, yet somehow it seemed as if they had been able to communicate some sort of message. It reminded him of how Hanako and Inuka could be every once in awhile…but he had always figured that _that _just had something to do with twin telepathy…now he wasn't sure…

* * *

"…sorry, Miss Sakura! Tobi wasn't trying to be a bad boy! Tobi's sorry! Tobi's sorry! Tobi didn't mean to! Tobi--"

"Tobi, stop it already." Sakura put a hand to her head as Tobi suddenly stopped mid bow and shot straight up, clearly anxious to please her…or at least not anger her. "Tobi…" Sakura sighed before she continued, "I already told you that I forgive you for…that. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Sakura paused, but Tobi didn't say anything, so Sakura continued, "I wanted you to explain the answer you gave me when I asked you how you learned to heal."

Tobi started fidgeting and finally he stuttered, looking at his feet, "T-Tobi said T-Tobi doesn't kn-know."

Sakura tried to stay patient as she said, "I know that's what you said. I want to know what you _meant _by it." Tobi didn't say anything; instead he just looked at his feet and fidgeted like a child. Finally Sakura sighed; she may as well ask now, since this was getting them nowhere, "Tobi, I have a question for you. Do you have amnesia?"

Tobi cocked his had to the side and said innocently "Tobi doesn't know."

Sakura had to refrain from rubbing her temples as she asked, "How about this, then, Tobi: How far back can you remember? Do you remember your parents? Siblings? When you learned to heal? Anything like that. What do you remember…not just _know_, but _remember_?"

"Well, I, well…I…ah…OH! I remember Ayaka!" Tobi stared up at Sakura like a child who feels they've just done something wonderful and deserve praise.

Sakura patted Tobi's head absentmindedly as she thought, '_Now why does that name sound familiar…oh, yeah, isn't that the name of the person who Yuri said she would have check in on me? I wonder if they are the same person._'

Sakura looked at Tobi and noticed what she was doing. She quickly returned her hand to her side and was about to ask another question when Tobi looked at her (with what appeared to be child like pleading in his one visible eye) and asked, "Tobi is a good boy…right?"

Sakura smiled and answered kindly, "Yes, Tobi is a good boy…" and then she thought, '_Great, now he's got _me _talking like him…_' Sakura sighed as her thoughts became more businesslike, '_I get the feeling I'm not going to get anything else from him no matter what I ask him, so I may as well go ahead and give him my offer._'

Sakura cleared her throat, "Tobi, I have a proposition for you…you obviously _do _know how to heal, but your skills leave much to be desired. You lack control and precision when it comes to using your Chakra, and that can be a very dangerous thing in a ninja, let alone a medic." Sakura paused and looked down at Tobi, whose shoulders sagged and whose eye was studying his feet.

Sakura didn't smile, but neither did she frown, as she reached out and put a hand on Tobi's shoulder and waited for him to look up at her. Once she held his eye with hers, she said, "But at the same time, I can see that you have a natural talent for healing; all you lack is the knowledge and the training to use that talent properly." Sakura removed her hand and turned away from Tobi to look at her meditating cousins, "That is why I am offering to tutor you along with my cousins in the ways of healing."

There was a pause, and silence filled the room. Sakura continued to watch her cousins as she waited for Tobi's answer. The answer came as Tobi tackled her in a bear hug as he exclaimed merrily "Thank you Miss Sakura!" Only a second later, Tobi jumped back and started bowing all over again saying, "Sorry, _Lady _Sakura! Tobi just, Tobi just, Tobi's just so happy! Sorry Lady Sakura! Thank you Lady Sakura! Tobi's--"

Sakura smiled warmly, Tobi really was just like a little kid, "It's ok, and your welcome…now please calm down…and please, you don't need to call me _Lady _Sakura, Sakura would be just fine."

Tobi shook his head jubilantly, "Begging Lady Sakura's pardon, but Miss Konan said everyone was to be extra polite to Lady Sakura. Now that Lady Sakura is Tobi's teacher, Tobi has to be even _more _polite!"

Sakura had to refrain from rubbing her temples once more, '_Just what I need…another person calling me Lady Sakura…ugg…_' Sakura looked at Tobi who was still bouncing for joy, '…_this is going to be a long day._' Sakura shook her head and said in a methodical voice, "Well then, Tobi, your first duty as my student is to meditate like the others…and calm down. After that, I'm going to have to see what all you know, and what all you need work on. We'll go from there."

* * *

When Sakura broke the news to her cousins that they were going to be joined by Tobi, she got mixed reactions. Inuka was shocked, but soon she got over it and was beaming happily at Tobi (who beamed just as happily right back), Noya acted totally unsurprised and just nodded his head in confirmation to the information, Hanako, however, didn't quite glower, but she may as well have.

Sakura instructed Noya and Inuka to inform Tobi about what they'd learned so far so that she could pull Hanako aside. By now Hanako's face was completely cleared of emotions, but Sakura wasn't fooled in the least. "What's wrong, Hanako?" Sakura asked, but when Hanako opened her mouth to speak, Sakura knew she'd say 'nothing's wrong' so she interrupted, "Don't try to hide it, Hanako. I can tell you're not happy about my decision to tutor Tobi."

Hanako bowed her head politely as she said, "It's not my place to interfere with your decisions, Lady Sakura. Your wish is our command." though Hanako hid it extremely well, Sakura had heard the strain in Hanako's voice when she'd said the part about the decision…though she found it odd that Hanako hadn't had any misgivings with the 'your wish is our command' part, just the part dealing with her decision.

"Hanako, don't beat around the bush, please. I would prefer if you told me what it is that you don't like about my decision, rather than that 'it isn't your place to interfere' with said decision." Sakura waited, but Hanako just stared at her feet and didn't speak; but Sakura noticed that her hands were clinched at her sides. Finally Sakura said, "Hanako…tell me your thoughts."

Sakura didn't like how much it sounded like an order, but she had a feeling that ordering Hanako to speak may be the only way to get her to actually do it. Hanako didn't look up, but Sakura watched as the little girls fists started to shake. Finally Hanako's voice barely whispered, "It ain't right, it just ain't right. He's a murderer, a filthy murderer; all of them are!"

Hanako didn't look up, but her whispering voice grew stronger as she continued, "You're the Pillar of our society! They don't deserve to be in your presence, let alone be taught by you! They're filthy murderers, kidnappers, and hostage takers! They'll defile our very lives with their unforgivable ways, and worst of all," She paused as she finally looked up at Sakura, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, "they'll defile _you_, Lady Sakura…that's unforgivable. The Pillar must remain safe, clean of all outside influences…pure in the Hoshi way!"

The tears that had been threatening, fell. Sakura hugged Hanako to her, and let the girl cry silently into her shirt. Sakura looked over the crying girls head and saw Noya trying to stop Inuka from rushing over to Hanako. Sakura locked eyes with Inuka and slowly shook her head no. Inuka stopped straining against Noya, but her hand grasped his arm firmly, as his did hers. Tobi stood behind them both, looking worried and bewildered.

Sakura looked back down at Hanako, who's breathing was beginning to calm. Hanako gently pushed away from Sakura and brought up a hand to rub her eyes, mumbling a quiet apology. Sakura got down on her knees and put her hands on Hanako's shoulders and said both kindly and quietly, so that only Hanako would hear, "You don't need to apologize. I understand that you'd be angry at them for doing all that they've done. I myself don't like many of the things I know this organization has done and is planning to do, but…"

Sakura lowered her voice even more, "…you seem more worried about this Pillar business. Maybe you've forgotten, or maybe you never knew, but I'm not the perfect Hoshi. I'm a ninja, Hanako, I've been at war, I've killed, I've blood on my hands…I know that sometimes force is the only solution to a problem, and I'm not afraid to use that force if I must. In the eyes of a Hoshi, I know I'm already tarnished."

Hanako shook her head and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth but continued to shake her head vigorously from side to side. Noya walked over cautiously and Sakura nodded her head as she stood back up. Noya gave a brisk nod before he walked up to Hanako and gently hugged her, which was soon followed by Inuka running up to Hanako and squeezing her (and Noya, who got caught in the middle) tightly.

* * *

Everything had just calmed down when a knock sounded from nearby. Everyone turned to see a young woman, approximately nineteen or twenty-years-old, carrying a basket and standing by one of the many bookcases. She had light violet hair that went to about her mid back and deep brown eyes.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about her, however, was that she wasn't wearing an Akatsuki robe. The only thing that Sakura could see that had to do with the Akatsuki was that her nails were painted the signature purple and that parts of her clothing, like the cuffs of her shirt, had three embroidered lines of red, black and white (the Akatsuki colors). Another thing that Sakura noticed right away was that she had a pack of kunai strapped to one leg, and Sakura didn't doubt that she knew how to use them.

The woman bowed, careful not to tip the basket she carried, and as she straightened she said in a light voice, "Hello, Lady Haruno, my name is Ayaka. Master Konan has instructed me to take care of you during her absence." She lifted the basked slightly as she said, "I have brought you and your students your lunch."

She bowed again before walking forward and placing the basket on the floor near Sakura. She then turned to look at Tobi (who was looking at the basket, obviously hungry) and said sternly, though not unkindly, "Tobi, don't you _dare _touch that food until Lady Haruno has distributed the food for her and her students first."

You could hear the frown in Tobi's voice as he whined, "Aww, but I'm hungry…" and then as he remembered, he exclaimed, "Oh, yeah! I _am _one of her students now! Yay, I get to eat!"

Tobi's hand reached for the basked, but Ayaka slapped it lightly, saying, "I didn't know you were one of her students, but even so, you still have to wait for Lady Haruno." She then turned to Sakura and bowed again as she said in a resigned voice, "I apologize for Tobi's behavior, Lady Haruno. If my little brother causes you any problems, please tell me and I'll set him straight for you."

* * *

There, I hope you liked it. I have a link to a picture of Ayaka up on my profile, so if you want, you can go and see what she looks like.

Reviews and constructive criticisms (as well as people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile) shall be greeted with a smile, flames, however, shall be greeted with a door in the face. Now on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon (probably), InvisibleCrimsonTenshi (you _think_? you mean it isn't obvious?), krazykoreangurl, Gothic Saku-chan, Crazedchocolatefan, Snow Wing (hm, that's a good question...you'll have to wait to see if it gets answered), panicatthediscotime, Selene98, jocx, snowecat, SpeedDemon315, Spirit Seer, Bob (aka someone) (I know, if you read, you'll find that Konan is her last name in my story and Yuri is her first name), Mrs.UchihaItachi-hime, XXRedWolfXX, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Jay95, sakura-angel113, xokatherine229, magickbendingdemon, animal.cracker.assassinator, akatsuki's hikari, Kitten-nin, dark Alley, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, SnowSkadi, 00ILoveNaruto00, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, Alone in a Blizzard, aznkitty180, LilBitzer (no, I have not), Hao'sAnjul, Taki-kun (I hope Taki-kun feels better soon), LovelyLittleAngel144, Sakimi1014, chikarubunny, Kinomi-chan, CosenAngel, Itachi4Eva, insanetenten (it's purple, if it look's pink, blame the computer), Pencil-chan-sama, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, SnowWolfSpirit (sui-chan...just use their names...it's easier on me), LadySakuraForest, DragonMaster Reborn, cherryredblossom, rinnyzito (I'm glad you like them), Confuzzled239, CherryBlossom9470 (you'll see), Gaybride-ella (the answer is because it's a time paradox. You see, Sakura was in the past, and she was dreaming of what would happen up to the point where she returned to her own time. That means that the old Hoshi went back into the past, before she was killed and before Sakura returned to her time...I hope that explained thigns better for you), xxBloodyxDreamzxx, Akatsukis angel, Strawberrylover, fightinsurfgrl, rinnyzito (my computer wouldn't let me go to the link, but I put it up on my profile. You may want to go try it out and make sure that it works/ isn't messed up in any way), & JustAnotherPerson333 for reviewing!


	25. Paper, Pencil, Flesh and Bone

Disclaimer: If you think I own…see a shrink…and I don't mean someone who's been shrunk…

**Chapter 25: Paper, Pencil, Flesh and Bone**

Before Ayaka left, Sakura asked her to bring a few things down to her. Ayaka gave her a well practiced bow and said that she would, and then she left, allowing Sakura and her students to eat. As they ate, Sakura forced herself to think on a lesson plan for today. First she'd have to find out what Tobi could do and what he knew about healing. After that…she would probably have to do some demonstrations, but what kind of demonstrations she'd have to do wouldn't be known until after she'd tested Tobi.

Speaking of Tobi, he'd taken his food and disappeared somewhere in the library. Sakura got the feeling he didn't want to be seen eating. Sakura's thoughts then floated to Tobi's sister, Ayaka. She hadn't been able to get much of an answer from Tobi about himself, but maybe she could ask Ayaka about it. She didn't know why, but Sakura got the odd feeling that Tobi's past could be important…but maybe that was just her imagination.

Sakura had just finished eating when Tobi returned and sat down next to Noya as if he hadn't just disappeared, Sakura didn't say anything about his disappearance, however. Once everyone had finished eating, Sakura explained to Tobi what tests she was going to do. By the time she had finished explaining, Ayaka had returned with a cart (how she got the cart down the stairs, Sakura wasn't going to ask) that held everything Sakura had asked for…and more.

* * *

After an hour, Sakura concluded her test on Tobi. She now had a pretty good idea of the range of his ability. He was actually halfway decent at healing flesh wounds, though he was _very _slow at doing so. He could barely do anything about internal bleeding unless he cut the patient open to actually get to the internal bleeding…not a good sign. He couldn't heal broken bones to save his life…or Sakura's, if it came to that…and that wasn't a good thing either.

Sakura sighed before she decided to explain to Tobi (and her cousins, who had been watching everything she had Tobi do with wide eyes) something she'd noticed. "Ok, everyone listen up. This may currently only be Tobi's problem, but it may become the three of yours' problem once you reach his level…so pay attention."

Sakura took a deep breath before she began, focusing her eyes on Tobi, "I've notice that when you heal, you are unable to keep your Chakra steady. Because it is continually fluctuating, you overcompensate to make sure that _something _happens. But your control is weak, so when you add more Chakra to what you're doing to make up for the low points in the fluctuation, you stress your patient. You keep adding Chakra, and the pressure that your Chakra emits on the patient increases."

"This is why you can heal flesh wounds to a point, but are unable to deal with bones. Flesh has some resilience, it can deal with extra pressure without too much effort, and it can rebound once the pressure is removed with little to show. Bones, on the other hand, are not made to give way to pressure. When you keep adding Chakra…keep adding pressure…to a bone, the bone fights you, because that's what a bone does. Because the bone fights you, you add more Chakra, making it have to fight you even more. Finally it gets to the point where the bone can no longer fight, but at the same time, it cannot give in and be healed, because the pressure still exists…so it breaks under that pressure."

Sakura paused, and noticed that only Noya looked like he understood what she was saying. Sakura sighed again, then tried another way of explaining. "You've all written on paper before, correct?" All four of her students nodded, and she continued, "Then you know that it's easiest to write on a flat, hard, surface. But you _can _write on surfaces other than that, it's just not as easy, and the work is of a lesser quality."

Sakura turned to the cart Ayaka had brought and pulled out a couple of sheets of paper and pencils before she turned back to her students. "First, let me show you what I've said so far." Sakura walked over to the side of a bookcase and put a piece of paper up against its flat wooden side. She thought a moment, and drew a simple, four-petaled, flower. Sakura sat back down and showed the drawing to her students, saying, "Now you draw something, keep it small, and keep it simple." as she handed each of them a paper and a pencil. Her students each drew something than returned to her, all but Noya looking confused.

Sakura waited until everyone had settled, before she took her paper and placed it on her leg and began to draw the flower a second time and said, "Draw it again, this time using your leg instead of the bookcase." As they drew, Sakura drew another drawing, but didn't tell them to do so as well.

Once they had finished, she had everyone show each other what they'd drawn. The pictures all differed, but one thing remained the same, the picture that they had drawn on the bookcase was twice as good as the squiggly drawing that had been done on their legs. Sakura nodded, then showed them her three drawings. The first one was neat, no major squiggles to be seen. The second one was very squiggly, much like how her student's pictures had been. Her third one was wavy and not quite as good as her first one, but was much better than her second one.

Inuka's mouth opened, but before she could ask, Sakura answered, "The second one I drew the same way I drew the first. I used the same kind of pencil strokes, and I timed myself to make sure I even drew it in the same amount of time. The third one, that I didn't have you do, was the one that I took my time on. I used smaller, neater, strokes to keep the drawing looking more like it should, and I didn't let the curve of the paper on my leg determine where or how I drew the picture. That is why it is better."

Sakura studied her students, and was happy to see that Hanako had the light of understanding growing in her eyes. Inuka and Tobi, however, still didn't see what she was getting at, but that was ok. "Now, we've drawn on flat and not flat surfaces, but there is one other surface that we have yet to try…" Sakura stood up and motioned for the others to stand up as well. She caught Tobi's eye and motioned for him to hand her his paper as she said, "…and that is no surface at all."

Sakura looked at Noya and asked, "Would you help me hold the paper up, tight, so that Tobi can draw on it?" Noya nodded and strode forward to help. Tobi however, just stood there, holding his pencil uncertainly. Sakura smiled warmly, "Go ahead, Tobi. Draw your picture, just like you did before."

Tobi put the pencil to the paper and pressed down. He had barely begun when a ripping sound came from the paper. Tobi jumped back from the paper, hands held up (including the pencil), as he exclaimed, "Tobi didn't do it!"

Sakura laughed lightly as he lowered his arms and said, "It's fine…I figured that would happen."

Inuka was the one to ask, "Then why did you have him do it? Why did any of us do any of this?"

Sakura motioned for everyone to sit back down and began her explanation, "This was to provide a visual for you, so you would completely understand my example. The paper, in this case, was to represent your patient, the pencil represented your Chakra, and your drawing represented the healing that your patient received." Both Inuka and Tobi nodded their heads slowly, while both Noya and Hanako gave one, certain, nod.

"The first drawing was to show you what a perfect healing would look like. The second one, at least in this case, was to represent what happens when you heal flesh wounds with unsteady Chakra control. The third one that only I drew was to show you the difference that patience and control can make, even if the situation isn't favorable for healing. The final one was to show you what I meant when I said that bone will fight you until it breaks if you try too hard."

Sakura paused, then stood up again and asked, "Noya, Hanako, would you please hold my paper for me, like we held Tobi's?" Both nodded and stood up to do as she asked. Once they were ready, Sakura took a pencil and lightly drew on the paper, constantly careful of how much pressure she applied. When she was finished, she had a lightly drawn, somewhat-shaky-but-still-well-enough-done, drawing of a flower. She turned to the two left sitting and asked, "What do you see? What do you think it means?"

Inuka spoke first, taking her time (for once in her life) to find the right words, "You didn't break the paper…but the drawing's still…not as good…and…I can barely see it…it's so light…But I don't get what it's supposed to mean."

Sakura nodded, then turned to hear what Tobi had to say, "Tobi thinks…that Lady Sakura was trying to say that you have to be careful not to break the bones…that you may have to do only a light healing if you don't want to break the bone." He paused, then asked, "But what if that's not enough? What if Tobi needed to completely heal a bone? What then?" He paused, then added, "Lady Sakura healed her ribs in a day…but how?"

Sakura answered with a smile, trying not to giggle at the pout in his voice as he'd said that last line, "The same way you would make a light drawing darker: you'd go over it again. In precarious cases, sometimes all you can do is do a little bit of healing at a time, just enough to allow the person to survive. Then, when you have more time, or, if it was a matter of Chakra, have enough Chakra, then you can go back and heal it again…however many times it takes." Tobi's head nodded slowly as he took in what she'd said.

Sakura stood up and studied the bookshelves around her until she found what she was looking for. She pulled down a thick-bound book and handed it to Noya, who had stood up as well. "Since you've finished the other one, that's the second volume…now, I think I know what we need to have you guys do next, but first for a change of scenery-" Sakura turned around to the cart, and saw that Ayaka had silently reappeared…she seemed to be very good at doing that. "Oh, hello, Ayaka. Thank you for bringing these things, they were useful."

Ayaka gave a polite bow, then said, "You're welcome, Lady Haruno. I'm happy to have helped."

Sakura cringed at the use of 'Lady', and said after Ayaka finished speaking, "You really don't have to call me 'Lady Haruno', just Haruno or Sakura would be fine."

Ayaka, however, shook her head once and said calmly, "No, Lady Haruno, I may not. My master, Konan, calls you 'Miss Haruno', so I, her subordinate, must thus call you 'Lady Haruno'. To call you otherwise would state that I thought myself better than my master, or above my master's opinion of people's status."

Mentally Sakura sighed, yet another person who won't call her simply by her name. Ayaka must have noticed that Sakura hadn't been happy, because she said, "I'm sorry, Lady Haruno, but I follow my master's lead. Technically, considering how my master respects you, everyone, not just me, should be calling you Lady Haruno…well, other than master Konan, our Leader, and our Master." She paused, then added as if in afterthought, "I suppose, if what I've heard is true, that Itachi Uchiha could also call you otherwise."

Sakura blushed and nodded, then shook her head, then shrugged before she finally said, "I don't want to be called 'Lady' by anyone. 'Lady' is supposed to be for someone important, but I'm _not _important, not like that." Sakura shook her head as if to dislodge the thoughts about being called 'Lady'. "Anyways, thank you for the materials. I'd offer to take back the cart myself, but I don't know where you got it." mentally Sakura added, '_or how you got it down all those stairs_'

"I was happy to help you, Lady Haruno. I will deal with the cart and then I will return, to be nearby should you need me for anything."

Sakura nodded, but before Ayaka turned to leave, she said, "We won't be in here. I'm going to move to the training room for the rest of today's lesson." Behind her, Sakura heard Inuka cheer...and _then _ask Noya what a training room was.

Ayaka nodded her head as she took a hold of the cart, and said, "I will find you, wherever you may be." She then gave another bow and left. The next thing Sakura knew, Inuka was tugging on her arm, trying to get her attention.

"Lady Sakura…what is a training room? Tobi said you were probably talking about a room that had open space and trees…and windows on the roof. But how can trees grow under a roof? Wouldn't they grow so tall they'd break through the glass? And why would you put glass on a ceiling? Wouldn't it break if it hailed, or an acorn fell on it, or…" Inuka kept asking questions without giving Sakura a chance to speak.

Finally Hanako covered Inuka's mouth with her hand, and Sakura said, "Thanks, Hanako. Let's head to the training room, and you'll find out what it's like when we get there."

They walked, Hanako still holding her hand over Inuka's mouth, with Tobi leading (though not by much) and Itachi behind them. They had almost reached the training room when Hanako must have decided that Inuka had calmed down enough, because she removed her hand. Bad move. The moment her mouth was free, Inuka started asking, "Why'd you do that! What's a training room? What are we going to do when we get-" Hanako covered her mouth again with a heavy sigh.

Bad news: apparently Inuka was contagious…because it wasn't long before Tobi started asking questions nonstop, just as Inuka had.

Good news: Hanako had _two _hands.

* * *

There, I thought that was a funny ending. Now, just a reminder: Tobi is not the Master or an Uchiha. I've said it before, yet I still have people asking me...oh well, that's life as an author for you.

I'm going to be putting up a link to a picture of the three Sakura's that Sakura saw in the third to last chapter of ACC.

Reviews and constructive criticisms (as well as people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile) shall be ushered in by me, with a warm and welcoming smile. Flames shall be ushered _away _by Wolf-Chan, who will also be smiling…just not so warmly, and definitely not so welcomingly. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Selene98, akatsuki's hikari, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, sakura-angel113 (thanks, I fixed it), DragonMaster Reborn, Crazedchocolatefan, Lucy-san, Fallen to Earth, Megan Giles, .assassinator, LilBitzer, LadySakuraForest (Tee-hee, I'm verry proud of that fact, though it's all thanks to all of you lovely reviewers. All I did was type a story), LovelyLittleAngel144, Spirit Seer (remember that in my story, Tobi is not a Uchiha), rinnyzito, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura ( I don't know...but probably a lot), Gothic Saku-chan, chester-roxs, Sakimi1014, Quiet Moon, Hao'sAnjul, Snow Wing, K O N E K O - C H A N 2 4 (yes), SpeedDemon315, xokatherine229, aznkitty180, Alone in a Blizzard (your review was funny), InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, SnowSkadi, Jay95, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, xMissxPepperx, Cster, CosenAngel, Pencil-chan-sama, dark Alley, cherryredblossom, tema-sama, Itachi4Eva (yes, actually, I do), Uzumaki Tsumana (sorry, but I don't write lemons, so that's not going to happen), SnowWolfSpirit (patience is a virtue, Sui-chan), MusicLuva, Crimson Violets, & Mitsuko Konno (your Einglish was very good, don't worry. There were only a few small errors, but I could understand everything. I'm glad you like my story, and I love getting reviews, especially long ones.) for reviewing!


	26. Amnesia

Disclaimer: You should know by now…do I really need to tell you?

**Chapter 26: Amnesia**

Sakura stood in front of her students, with Itachi beside her, and finished her explanation of what she was about to have them do. "…that's why this is important. Now, I would like you all to watch as Itachi walks up the tree." As she said that, Itachi emotionlessly did as she had asked him to do (since she couldn't, due to her Chakra being suppressed). Soon Itachi was by her side again and Sakura said "Ok, now I want you all to pick a tree, and try to do that."

The moment Sakura finished speaking, Inuka emitted a loud yell as she charged the tree. She got one foot on the tree, then the next, then…she fell flat on her back. Hanako started giggling and Inuka glared at her and yelled, "If it's so easy then why don't you do it!"

Hanako smirked at her sister and ran at the tree. She was taking her fourth step up the tree when her foot started to break through the bark. Hanako soon found herself on the ground again too, only unlike Inuka, she landed on her feet. There was a moment of silence, then both twins started to laugh at their failure while they prepared to try again.

Sakura smiled before turning to see how Noya was doing. To her surprise, he hadn't even moved to try to walk up the tree yet. He was just standing there, looking at the tree as if he were trying to calculate something.

Sakura looked around for Tobi, but couldn't see him anywhere. Then she heard Tobi's voice call from above her in an almost arrogant tone, "Tobi already knows how to do this." Sakura looked up and saw that Tobi was at the top of a tree, his head almost touching the glass ceiling. "Can Tobi do something else? Tobi's bored."

Sakura was about to say something to Tobi when another voice said, "Well, I agree, it's not _that _hard…but it's not _boring_, either." Sakura looked to the tree next to Tobi's and saw that the voice belonged to none other than Noya…who had made it to the top of his tree too. Tobi turned to Noya, and before Sakura could get a word in, he challenged Noya to a race. Noya accepted without hesitation, and soon they were both racing down the tree.

Sakura was about to return her attention to the twins when she noticed that Itachi was emitting an angry aura (though anyone other than her probably wouldn't have noticed) from behind her. "What is it, Itachi?" He didn't answer. Sakura looked over her shoulder at him and repeated her question. He looked at her, and without saying anything, shot a look at Tobi, then looked back at her.

Sakura got the message, he was angry at Tobi for being rude to her. Sakura shook her head and returned to looking forward as she said, "Don't mind Tobi, he's practically like a little kid." Sakura felt Itachi's arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. As Itachi hugged her to him, she leaned her head back against his chest to look up at him. He, in turn was looking down at her. "What is it?" All she got in answer was a 'hn'.

* * *

Some hours later Sakura was healing Inuka and Hanako, who had gathered a number of scrapes and bruises from their practice. As Sakura finished healing the last minor wound, Inuka pointed upwards and said with a giggle, "They look like monkeys!" Sakura looked up to the treetops, where Noya and Tobi were chasing each other, and nodded, a grin on her face.

Hanako, who was also looking up at the 'monkeys' said worriedly, "I hope Noya's careful…"

Inuka snorted, "He's _always _careful! Quit worrying so much." Hanako shook her head, but didn't say anything. After a moment, Inuka chirped, "Hey! Let's see which of us can go higher this time!"

Hanako shrugged, and as she and Inuka prepared to run at the trees again, Hanako said offhandedly, "Sure, but I doubt anything's going to change." Having said that, Hanako got tackled by Inuka, who started tickling her.

Sakura shook her head at the siblings' antics and walked back towards Itachi, who was watching her (and had been ever since she left his side to give the twins more advice). She had just reached Itachi when the door to the training room opened and Ayaka stepped in. She walked up to Sakura and Itachi, and then bowed to the both of them before she said anything.

Once Ayaka had straightened, she said to Itachi, keeping her eyes focused on his shoulder rather than meeting his eyes, "Uchiha, Zetsu wishes to speak with you. He asks that you meet him in the debriefing room at once. I am to take your post with Lady Haruno while you go to him." Itachi 'hn'ed, nodded, and left without a word.

Sakura smiled at Ayaka and motioned to a clump of boulders that they could use to sit on as she said, "We may as well sit and talk, since my students are preoccupying themselves right now." Ayaka nodded and sat by Sakura on a boulder. Silence prevailed for a while, until finally Sakura tried to break the ice by asking, "So what do you do here?" She quickly added, "If you don't mind telling me, that is."

Ayaka looked at Sakura for a few moments before a small smile spread across her face. It was a few more moments before she said in a voice that wouldn't carry beyond the two of them, "You are just as master Konan said you were…friendly and curious, but cautious." Sakura's eyebrows lifted. How had this young woman discerned that from the two sentences she'd said?

As if Ayaka had read her thoughts, she shrugged and said, "I'm very perceptive…I have to be. You see, I…" Ayaka paused a moment before she continued, "…gather information."

Sakura's mouth twitched in a held back smile as she said blatantly, "You're a spy."

There was a pause, and a small, knowing, smile crept onto Ayaka's face as she looked Sakura in the eye. "No…I never said that. I merely said that I…_gather _information." Sakura was able to read between the lines. Ayaka _was _a spy, but of course she would never say so…no good spy would. Sakura also could tell that Ayaka was also saying that she knew that Sakura wasn't fooled, but that she also trusted Sakura not to tell (or maybe it was that she knew that there was no one for Sakura _to _tell it to).

Sakura smirked and said, "Of course, my mistake. Then, would you mind telling me how you…_gather _information."

There was a pause, as an almost invisible smirk appeared on Ayaka's face. It was quickly ironed out, and soon Ayaka was saying smooth-facedly (though her voice sounded thoughtful), "Since master Konan both likes and trusts you, which is a rare combination for her, I shall also trust you. I have never known my master to be wrong."

Ayaka paused again (something Sakura guessed she had probably picked up from Yuri), looked around them as if to make sure no one was too close by, then turned her attention back to Sakura and said quietly, "I use my Kekkei Genkai, which allows me to change my appearance at will, so long as I have enough Chakra to do so."

Shocked, Sakura whispered-exclaimed, "You have a Kekkei Genkai too?" Ayaka nodded her head, then Sakura asked quietly, "You said Tobi's your brother, right, so does that mean Tobi can do that too?"

Ayaka shook her head no, then explained after Sakura raised a questioning brow, "No, he does not…I believe we are only half siblings."

"Believe? You mean you don't know?" Asked Sakura, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer.

Ayaka nodded, paused, then said, "I'm not sure…something happened when we were younger." She paused again, then said with a sad smile, "This might sound crazy, but…there are some things I know, though I don't remember how I came to know them…sometimes I'm not even sure that I really know what I think I know…but other things are just…_gone_"

Ayaka turned her head to the side, and Sakura could tell she was watching Tobi as she said, "Tobi's even worse…I don't really remember what exactly happened, and I'm not sure if what I remember is real, or just a dream, but…my earliest, _clear_, memory, is of me…trying to teach Tobi how to speak again." Sakura could hear sadness in her voice, though it was well hidden.

Sakura nodded gravely, she had expected something like that to be the case, though some of the details she hadn't expected. "It sounds to me," Sakura began carefully, "like the two of you have amnesia."

Ayaka rolled her eyes and said, "I figured that Tobi had amnesia…but I don't think I do. If I did, then why would I be able to remember even some things from before the point in time where my memory goes hazy? It's probably just bad memory, not amnesia. Besides," she added as if this last fact cemented her case, "I've never had a head wound, like what Tobi had."

Sakura stayed quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts and analyzed all that Ayaka had told her. Finally Sakura said slowly, making sure to hold Ayaka's gaze, "From what you've told me, you don't need me to tell you that Tobi has amnesia, _but_…you _do_ need me to tell you that it's very likely that you, too, have amnesia, just of a different level of severity."

Ayaka shook her head and was about to deny it; Sakura didn't let her. "I can't be a hundred percent sure until I know more about what you can and can't remember, and other things like that, but…I'd say the chance of you having amnesia is about ninety-nine percent." This time Ayaka just stared at her, obviously both believing her and not believing her at the same time. Sakura knew an explanation was in order.

"I'm a medical expert, Ayaka, you know that, so," she said, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "listen to me spew the facts I've had ground into my head." Ayaka gave a weak smile, and Sakura continued, "There are different levels of severity for amnesia, and different ways for the amnesia to come about."

"Possibly the best known, and one of the rarest, is the kind that Tobi apparently has, where you forget everything, and your memory doesn't return soon after. Even in that level alone, there are other levels. Some people just forget day-to-day memories, but retain taught abilities and knowledge. Others lose all memory whatsoever, and become much like an overgrown, newborn baby, having to relearn everything. Then there are countless variations in between."

"The most common form of amnesia, not that any form of amnesia is truly_ common_…but anyways, the most common is for someone, normally someone who has recently received a head injury of some sort, to lose their memory for only a short while, weeks at most. Then their memory comes back, and it's as if they had never forgotten. This level of amnesia also has different levels of severity of memory loss, though they don't tend to be too severe; most people only forget the day-to-day memories."

"Sometimes people get a weaker form of amnesia, where they have patchy memory rather than a blank slate. Some people can remember their past perfectly, but it's their present, from the time they 'lost' their memory on, that they are unable to recall. This happens when only certain parts of the brain are affected by whatever caused the amnesia. It can happen to people who receive a brain injury, who've been starved of oxygen for too long, or, sometimes, to people who have been in a coma for a long time…because parts of their brain die."

"Not all cases of amnesia, however, are caused by physical trauma. Some cases are caused by emotional trauma." Sakura watched as Ayaka's eyes widened. Sakura nodded, then continued, "Since you said that you hadn't had a head injury, unlike Tobi, and seemed sure that there was no physical reason for you to have amnesia, it leaves only emotional factors to be the cause. I can't be sure though what exactly caused it until I know more."

Sakura looked at Ayaka expectantly, knowing Ayaka would get what she was getting at. Finally Ayaka sighed and settled in to tell her story…at least, the parts of her story that she could recall.

* * *

**AN**: I could have ended it here (and I was seriously thinking about it), with a nice cliff for you to hang off of, but I won't be that mean…_this time_.

* * *

"Everything's a blur, I'm not sure that I really remember what I think I remember, but here's my story as I remember it…and some detail's I've been able to discern, not through memory, but through information gathering." Sakura mentally smirked, she should have guessed that Ayaka wasn't the kind of person to let unremembered lie.

"I remember that Tobi and I were with our mother…but it may only be because I have a photo of all three of us." Ayaka paused, then reached towards her kunai pack, but instead of opening it, her hand slipped behind it, and when her hand reappeared, there was a small folded piece of paper. She carefully unfolded it, then showed the picture to Sakura.

The picture held a woman with long black hair and deep brown eyes, much like Ayaka's. She looked worn, but was evidently happy as she looked into the camera, an arm around each of two small children. One was a purple haired girl about five-years-old, with her mothers brown eyes and a toothy smile. The other was a boy with black hair and brown eyes, both like his mothers, who smiled mischievous at the camera. He could only have been a year younger than his sister. They were standing on a grassy hill, with a river and trees in the background.

Ayaka turned the picture over and showed that on the back, in precise handwriting, were written each of their names in order of their position in the picture: Tobi, Mei, Ayaka, but there was no last name or date or anything else to give when or where this had been taken. Ayaka silently folded the picture back up as carefully as she had unfolded it, then returned it to its hiding place.

"If not for this picture, I wouldn't have even known for sure what our names were. I don't remember if I'd forgotten our names or not, but I know I was at least confused…and Tobi didn't remember anything, so he was no help. I don't remember how old we were exactly, the days became a blur afterwards, but we were probably somewhere between the ages of seven and ten when it happened, not that we're a hundred percent sure of how old we are _now_, either."

"I don't remember what really happened…only running away from people, fear laced with confusion…and knowing that I had to save Tobi…that Tobi was the one that they were after…and who, I think, they wanted to kill. The next thing I think I remember was that we were washed up on the edge of a riverbank, and Tobi was bleeding…a lot…the river ran red that day." there was a sad pause before Ayaka continued, "…and that our mother wasn't with us. I don't know what happened to her."

Ayaka turned her face to look at Tobi again as she continued, "I'm not really sure what happened after that for a while…the next thing I remember, we were about eleven and twelve. Tobi was already wearing that same mask that you see him wearing now. Even though I don't remember what happened between the accident and that time, I knew that he wore that mask because he'd lost an eye, and his face was…" Ayaka shook her head, "You get the point…but anyways, I knew that he had had the mask ever since he'd been able to understand that he now looked…different…from others."

There was a pause, as the both of them just watched Tobi and Noya race each other across the treetops. Finally Ayaka said, "It wasn't too much later that two men, wearing black robes with red clouds, found us. Both had red hair, though one's hair was more strawberry blond while the others was more of an amber red." Ayaka paused, and then said, "That's the first, and only time I've ever seen our blue eyed Master in person…though I've seen our Leader a number of times since then. But that's only because I later became master Konan's subordinate."

Ayaka returned to looking at Sakura as she continued explaining, "Leader and Master took us to Zetsu, to be his subordinates…he has many. I don't know why they took us with them, but at the time I didn't care. It may have been that they knew that I had a Kekkei Genkai, and that I already knew how to use it…I don't know. That's the only thing that I can really think of that they might want us for…we were only children after all."

"We were Zetsu's subordinates for a couple of years, and he taught us what he felt we needed to know. But as I got older, two things happened that made it be decided that I should be master Konan's subordinate instead. One was just the fact that I was…growing out of childhood, and would do better with a fellow female. The other…was that when I came back from this one mission…" Ayaka gave a slight shudder, "…Zetsu said I looked good enough to eat…and there's no good way for that to be interpreted, _especially_ coming from him." Ayaka made a face before she continued, "So after that, I became master Konan's subordinate, and I have served her ever since."

Then with a smile in her voice Sakura said what she knew Ayaka hadn't said, "And you never want to go back to being his subordinate, either." Ayaka shuddered in answer, and then, both of them began to laugh. Somehow they'd become friends over the hour that they'd spent talking to each other.

* * *

There, no cliffy for you to hang off of this time, be grateful (I even made this over three thousand words, since some people were complaining that my chapters were too short). You may have noticed that Tobi said 'can I (well, it was Tobi instead of I, but you get the point)' rather than 'may I', that was on purpose, to show he's not good at speaking with correct grammar…it goes along with Tobi referring to himself in the third person.

Oh, and just to let you know, the things I said about the amnesia are all at least 95 percent correct. I had to do some guessing, but most of the information I've found out through research.

Also, I was barely able to put up this chapter (once again given ten minutes to post this chapter), and I will not have time to write another chapter today. I also will be busy next weak (we're having new carpet put in, so we have to move everything, _and_ were also painting the house, so I'm going to be _very_ busy both this week and next week.), so it will be unlikely that I will be puting up a chapter next week. At least this chapter was longer than normal, hopefuly it will hold you over 'til I am capable of puting up the next chapter. I appologize for any inconvienience.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile), but flames should know the fire drill by now. Now, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, Angel Blossoms, Selene98, .assassinator, LadySakuraForest, Fallen to Earth, SpeedDemon315, XXRedWolfXX, sakura-angel113, dark Alley, Jay95, aznkitty180, samurai-heart-forever, akatsuki's hikari, Crazedchocolatefan, LovelyLittleAngel144, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, xokatherine229, NightWing101, Alone in a Blizzard, rinnyzito, Cster, cherryredblossom, CosenAngel, Sakimi1014, Hao'sAnjul, Marika-Uchiha (many people would hunt me down and kill me if I didn't continue this), Gothic Saku-chan, acl03395, Midori Heiwa, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, Gaybride4U, Akane neji, itsuelee, & SnowWolfSpirit for reviewing!


	27. Possibilities

Disclaimer: I shouldn't need to tell you the answer…

**Chapter 27: Possibilities**

After their laughter faded, Sakura said in a more serious tone, "Well, it sounds to me like you _do _have amnesia; its just that yours is probably due to emotional trauma that came about because of whatever caused the incident that hurt Tobi." Sakura paused and thought carefully before she continued.

"There wouldn't be anything that could be done for Tobi…if his memories haven't come back by now, they probably aren't ever going to. With amnesia caused by physical trauma, either they regain their memories, or they don't…there's nothing that can really be done. For them, if their memory doesn't come back soon, that means that it's most likely been thrown out or destroyed completely, not just forgotten or misplaced. Emotionally caused amnesia _can _be worked with, since the memories are merely suppressed, but…there's not too much that I could do with the little information I have of your past."

Sakura shook her head sadly, then explained, "Through hypnosis and counseling, there is a chance that you can bring hidden memories to the surface. But in order to do that, you need something to spark the forgotten memories. Normally, there would be a friend or family member who could help with that, who knew you before you lost your memories, but that's not the case with you. And with little to no information to work with, stimulating your memory would be near impossible. What we need is more information."

This time it was Ayaka who shook her head sadly, paused, then said, "I've tried to look into our past, but I rarely have the time, master Konan keeps me busy. I've found out a little, but I haven't even been able to trace where Tobi and I lived before the incident."

Sakura nodded, " I see, so they keep you busy. Do you think that if I asked Yuri, she would…" Sakura stopped speaking as a thought buzzed in her head, just beyond comprehension.

The meaning came clear just as Ayaka asked her, "Are you all right?" Sakura nodded slowly, returning to the real world. Ayaka prompted Sakura, "If you asked master Konan if she would…what?"

Sakura paused, then finished her idea that didn't seem so important to her now as her new idea, "If I asked Konan to let you have time to find out more…"

Sakura paused and was about to give her new idea, when Ayaka spoke, "That could work…I don't know why, but I've noticed that master Konan thinks highly of you, much more so than she does most…she would probably agree if you asked it of her."

Sakura nodded, then began carefully, still thinking, "I just thought of it, but…I'm not sure, it may not work…what made me think of it was when you said you had looked into your past…it reminded me that I'm supposed to be a Time Walker. It may not work, either because I'm not very experienced with my Kekkei Genkai yet, or because my Chakra's pretty much limited to healing right now… though there _was _that one time…" Sakura trailed off, she knew she probably wasn't making much sense to Ayaka.

"Anyways, I don't know if it will work, but I could try to See your past, using my Eyes." Ayaka raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Sakura explained, knowing that Ayaka wanted to know two different things, "The Hoshi's never named their Kekkei Genkai, when they speak about using it, they just call it their Eyes." Ayaka nodded, and Sakura continued to explain the second thing she knew Ayaka wanted to know, "As to looking into the past, I've only tried it once before…I'm pretty new to this Kekkei Genkai thing…but I could try to look into your past, to See what happened that you've forgotten."

Ayaka nodded, then after a pause, said, "I guess it's worth a shot. If it works, it works, if it doesn't…then we won't be any worse off than we were before."

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath, held it, then let it out, trying to concentrate. She was almost to that familiar sensation that meant she could try to use her Eyes when a loud shout broke into her mind. Sakura looked up and up, and saw that Tobi had hit his head on the ceiling, and was now yelling at the windowed ceiling like it had been the one to hit him, rather than the other way around. 

Sakura smiled, then began to lower her eyes when the sun's rays momentarily blinded her. In that moment, the familiar sensation came, and Sakura didn't waste a moment to wonder, she dove into it. It was like she was swimming through molasses or something…the going was slow, and she felt like something was slowing her down, trying to stop her. Sakura pressed on, thinking that she had to find out about Ayaka and Tobi's past…she didn't know why, but she _had _to.

Then suddenly a picture formed around her. There were ten people, both men and women with nothing distinguishable about them, on horseback, and they were all chasing a lone horse that carried a pregnant woman and one, purple haired, baby. Sakura noticed that all ten had that strange glow around them, the one that her cousins had said meant that a Jutsu was at work. Sakura peered closer at the ten riders, and for a moment, the picture of the ten people wavered, and over their inconspicuous appearances were ten men and women…all with purple hair.

The waver ended, and the ten people returned to looking bland, but Sakura had no doubt that the brief picture of purple hair had been their true selves. These must be Ayaka's relatives…but why were they chasing her? Why was Ayaka's mother, Mei, running away? What was going on? Sakura concentrated on that question, urging her Eyes to find the answer. The picture around her blurred, and Sakura figured it would soon reform as a new image.

Without warning, the feeling of being held back returned with a vengeance. Automatically, Sakura knew her previous description had been wrong. She hadn't been swimming through molasses…she had been fighting against a rubber wall. It had momentarily bent under her mental pressure…or was it the power of her Kekkei Genkai…but now It would stand her no longer. Without further warning, Sakura was thrown out of her Kekkei Genkai with a terrible force.

* * *

Ayaka had seen Sakura's eyes suddenly turn blue and her pupils shrink into almost nonexistence. Then she watched, fascinated, as the blue of Sakura's eyes started flicking around lazily, while her pinprick-pupils stayed fixed, never moving from the place where they had rested the moment her eyes had changed. 

At first the blue of her eyes moved slowly, but after about five minutes, that suddenly changed. In a heartbeat, the lazy flicking turned into a torrent of movement. Suddenly the blue of her eyes were all over the place, and at times, they disappeared completely from view, leaving her pinprick-pupils in a sea of white. It was both unnerving and exhilarating to watch.

After about a minute, Ayaka noticed Sakura's eyebrows furrow slightly…in annoyance? Confusion? Whatever it was, it was the first movement she'd made other than to breathe. Then, to Ayaka's surprise, Sakura's body moved for a second time. It was a minute movement, quickly done, but Ayaka caught it. It had been but a single finger, but it had moved in a most complex motion…so quickly that Ayaka, with all her perceptive skills, couldn't follow its movement completely. But she saw it move.

All emotion left Sakura's face, and she once again sat still, the only movement being her chest rising and falling as she breathed and her eyes flickering at an astonishing rate. Less than a minute later, the blue of her eyes suddenly stopped mid-movement. In a flash, her eyes were green again, but her pupils stayed dilated like pinpricks.

The next instant, Ayaka felt Chakra rebound from both within and around Sakura, and it wasn't Sakura's Chakra either. The Chakra blast sent Sakura flying from her perch. Ayaka didn't waste time, she jumped from her rock and caught Sakura just before she hit a tree. She laid Sakura, whose eyes were now closed, carefully on the ground. She felt all four of Sakura's students rushing to them, but she ignored them as she concentrated on Sakura.

She was breathing, she had a pulse…two _very _important things. Once Ayaka was sure of that, she turned to Tobi, who was kneeling right beside her, and said, "Make sure nothings wrong inside her…if there is, _don't do anything_." Tobi gulped, then did as he was told.

As he placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, Ayaka looked at the other three, and found that all three sets of their blue eyes now had shrunken pupils, as Sakura had had before; only their eyes were staying in one place and one piece. Tobi's voice made her return her attention to him.

"Lady Sakura will be ok. Tobi found nothing too bad." Ayaka taped her finger impatiently, and Tobi quickly added, "Tobi only found a little bruise around the left side of her ribcage."

Ayaka nodded, and was about to look at Sakura when what Noya said made her look at him instead, "It's the same as before…it was the very same glow as when we went outside." Ayaka wasn't sure what he meant by 'glow' but she'd heard about what had happened from Konan, so she knew what he was trying to say. He continued, and Ayaka noticed that his eyes had returned to normal, "That means that the same person did this…"

Ayaka nodded, but she'd already known that. She had recognized the Chakra, even though she'd only ever felt it once before…it was Master's Chakra…of that, she had no doubt. But what had happened…and why? She didn't get to entertain that question long, because they all heard a groan come from Sakura. She was waking up.

* * *

As Sakura slowly returned to the world of the conscious, her first understandable thought was that her left side hurt. She distantly heard first Tobi say that she had a bruise and then Noya talking about the glow being the same as the one that had come over her when she'd gone outside. Sakura hadn't needed him to tell her that, she'd felt it for herself…and once she could find the strength to open her eyes, she'd tell Tobi that 'a little bruise' was a _major_ understatement. 

Sakura groaned as she forced her eyes open and tried to sit up. She felt a hand press her back down, and she obeyed, though she couldn't see whose hand it was, because her vision was tunneled to the point of being almost nonexistent. She heard Ayaka's voice say both carefully and worriedly, "Lady Haruno, you mustn't push yourself."

Sakura blinked as her vision slowly swam back into focus. Finally she said, "I'm fine…that just hurt." Sakura sat slowly up and ignored Ayaka's claim that she shouldn't try to sit up yet. For a moment, her vision tunneled again, but moments later it returned to normal. Sakura turned to Ayaka and said sternly, "I'm fine…" she then said, almost sarcastically, "I guess I just did something that that guy's Jutsu didn't want me to do."

Ayaka's eyebrows furrowed, and after a moment, she said, "How can that be? If the Master decides to not allow your Chakra to do something, then it can't do it…at all. I've never heard of his Jutsu not being completely effective." She paused, then asked almost shyly, looking down at her hands, "What happened…did you…?" she trailed off, but Sakura understood the question.

Sakura gave a weak laugh, and then stopped as her chest hurt, reminding her of the 'little bruise'. "Yeah, but first I need to heal myself…" She shot Tobi a look as she said, "there's nothing 'little' about the whole left side of my chest being one massive bruise…Tobi…" Tobi flushed, and then yowled as Inuka hit him on the head.

Ayaka sighed and grabbed Tobi's collar to stop him from trying to hit Inuka back and said ruefully, "Tobi, you can't forget that something that would bother _you _for merely a moment, bothers others for a lot longer and is more serious than it would be for you."

Sakura listened to Ayaka chide Tobi as she healed herself. When she finished, she said to her students, "I'm fine now, so you four go back to practicing." She heard Tobi groan so she turned to him and Noya and told them, "We'll switch things around tomorrow for the two of you, but for now, just keep running through the trees…and be careful. No roughhousing in the treetops, you hear me?" Both nodded, a slight flush visible on Noya's cheeks. They hadn't thought she'd notice that their races had been getting out of hand. "Good, now go have fun."

Once all four were out of earshot, Sakura turned back to Ayaka, "I did see a brief picture of your past before I was thrown from my Kekkei Genkai." Sakura went on to describe the scene she'd seen. When she finished, she said, "I'm not sure if that helps much, but that's all I got before I was kicked in the chest by that Jutsu. Ow, that hurt…though I admit it wasn't anywhere near as bad as when my Chakra was completely sealed off."

Sakura paused as she remembered something else, and then added, "But it _was _worse than the one other time I used my Kekkei Genkai…though _that _time my using it was an accident." Sakura laughed, then said, "I'm still trying to figure it out…I don't quite have complete control of my Kekkei Genkai yet…ok, I have barely any control of it!"

Ayaka nodded, but her face showed that she was only half listening. When Sakura asked her what it was, she gave a long pause, then slowly said, "It's just…you said this has happened once before…and like I said, it shouldn't have _ever _happened, let alone twice. Maybe I'll ask master Konan about it, but…" Ayaka sighed, "I don't know. Maybe there's something about that Jutsu that I don't know…it's possible…our Master _is _a very secretive person, after all."

Sakura nodded, and a silence overtook them. Finally Sakura decided to ask Ayaka something she'd been wondering about before. "Ayaka, what did you mean by what you said to Tobi? The part about things being different for him than others."

Ayaka watched her brother as she answered, "Well, Tobi is an odd person when it comes to getting hurt. When he gets hurt, his injuries automatically begin to heal. He has some healing knowledge, as I know you've found out, but you must also have noticed that he's nowhere near good enough to heal injuries as quickly as his own injuries heal." Ayaka paused as she turned to look back at Sakura, "But I don't know why that is, or how he does it…and he often forgets that other people don't heal as quickly as him. He's clueless." Ayaka shook her head, but there was a small smile on her face.

Sakura nodded in understanding. She'd noticed during the tests that there had been something odd about Tobi's healing ability. It had often seemed like he was fighting himself as he tried to heal his 'patient'. With this bit of information, she was beginning to form a hypothesis. But first, "Ayaka, do you know if he's always been like that?"

Ayaka shook her head as she said, "No, Lady Haruno, he hasn't. If he had, then maybe he wouldn't have ever needed that mask. No…it didn't start until…I'd guess he was about thirteen." Sakura nodded, she had half expected something like that.

Sakura sat there, but didn't say anything as her brain went into overdrive, forming her hypothesis.

* * *

There, that was a somewhat-cliffhanger, but I don't think that was a full-fledged-cliffhanger (you won't find out for a little while what hr hypothesis is or whether it's correct or not).

I got a snow day, so I was able to update! Though I have to say, I'm a bit sad that a) fewer people are reviewing and b) no one has read my hint that I put up on my forum (other than Sui-chan, who I see at school). It was a big hint too! (whaaaaaaaa) So please, people, go read it and tell me your thoughts, PLEASE!

I'm updating this today (Wednesday), but I can't promis that I'll be able to update Saturday...we're still busy with painting and moving things around and all that jaz. To make it up to you for all these long waits, the next chapter will be twice the normal size. Once again, I appologize for the long waits.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome over to my domain (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile). Flames are welcome over…over a cliff that is. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: samurai-heart-forever, magickbendingdemon,animal.cracker.assassinator, Ri-16-Chan, akatsuki's hikari, akane neji, xokatherine229, Jax9, LovelyLittleAngel144, cherryredblossom, Jay95, Quiet Moon, Cster, Fallen to Earth, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, CosenAngel, sakura-angel113, Sakimi1014, DragonMaster Reborn, aznkitty180, Crazedchocolatefan, Defiant-Crayon, Hao'sAnjul, Alone in a Blizzard, Itachi4Eva, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, 555, SpeedDemon315, SnowWolfSpirit, Gothic Saku-chan, Gothic Saku-chan, NightWing101, moonbeam28, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, & chester-roxs for reviewing!


	28. Sakura vs Deidara

Disclaimer: Get ready for a long read…what you all've been asking for! (a really, _really_ **long** chapter)

**Chapter 28: Sakura vs. Deidara**

Itachi walked out into the clearing to meet Kisame near where the trees began. To say the least, Itachi was not in a good mood, not that he let it show. Itachi walked right past Kisame as he said emotionlessly, "Let's go." Kisame chuckled, but otherwise followed him without a word.

As they ran towards their destination, Itachi thought back to what Zetsu had told him. Apparently Zetsu had found some ninja that had begun lurking around only a few hours after their Leader and his partner had left. He and Kisame were to deal with them, preferably without causing too much of a scene…they were also to try to capture at least one, alive, for questioning. That meant he had to be with Kisame, to make sure Kisame didn't kill all his opponents and only afterwards remember that he was supposed to leave one alive.

When he'd found that out, he'd hoped that Zetsu would keep Tobi and Ayaka as Sakura's guards, but that wasn't to be the case. With Konan gone, Ayaka was temporarily under Zetsu's control, and Zetsu said he had a mission that required her skills. He had then gone on to say that, though Tobi _was _a full Akatsuki member, he understood that he was still only a boy who could easily be distracted, so he'd have someone else replace Ayaka and keep an eye on Sakura.

Zetsu told him who would be replacing Ayaka, and then went on to inform him of some concerns he had regarding the ninja he'd seen lurking around. For instance, he pointed out the fact that they had appeared soon after Leader and Konan had left, which meant that they might have some idea of where the Akatsuki hideout was, even though it was well hidden and well guarded. If that was the case, he wanted to find out how they'd found out their whereabouts. After he explained that, he explained why he was sending whom he was sending to replace Ayaka, which connected with his concern that their position may be known by the enemy.

It made sense, but Itachi still didn't like it. But he hadn't been in a position to suggest otherwise, so he had just nodded and listened to the rest of Zetsu's not-so-brief briefing.

* * *

They had eaten dinner in the training room, then Sakura sent her cousins back to their room with another reading assignment. As Tobi had lead her cousins down the hallway, Sakura noted that Itachi hadn't yet returned. She mentally shrugged, she was getting used to him being called away without much, if any, explanation…though she didn't like to think about what he was being called away for. She knew that with this being the Akatsuki, it couldn't be anything good.

Sakura didn't have to think about that long, however, because soon Ayaka started a conversation. When Tobi returned a little while later, he sat and listened to them talk, but soon got bored and started walking, and then running, around the treetops again. Ayaka and Sakura had just laughed and continued their conversation.

After talking for a long time, Ayaka and Sakura started a light sparring match. Ayaka had readily agreed to stick to Taijutsu and not use weapons or Chakra, since Sakura didn't have any weapons to use and her Chakra was still bound (and she wasn't about to press her luck so soon after being 'kicked in the chest' by the Jutsu…especially seeing as luck had it out for her). A few minutes after they began fighting, Tobi stopped running through the trees to sit down and watch.

As the fight progressed, however, Sakura began to get annoyed. Ayaka was making sure not to hurt Sakura whatsoever, in any way, shape, or form. So Sakura stepped up the pace, hoping to get Ayaka to actually do something. When it looked like Ayaka was actually about to begin fighting for real, their battle was interrupted by the opening of the door.

Both Ayaka and Sakura stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the door, expecting to see Itachi. But the person who walked through the door wasn't Itachi…It was Deidara. The first thought in Sakura's head was, '_Oh, shoot, this can't be good._'

Ayaka quickly turned to Deidara and gave a polite bow, "Hello, Deidara, sir, for what reason have you come?"

Deidara looked at her and grunted, "I'm supposed to take your place, Yeah. Zetsu has orders for you, Yeah."

Sakura noticed Ayaka pale a little, but it was so well hidden, that if she hadn't been looking for it, she wouldn't have noticed it. Ayaka spoke to Deidara in a calm, polite, voice, which betrayed nothing of her true emotions, "Master Konan said I was to take care of Lady Haruno in her absence. Surely Zetsu knows that."

Deidara scoffed, "Why do you think I'm here, Yeah? I'm to baby-sit little Miss Pinky in your place, Yeah." Sakura was all but twitching at this point, but Ayaka remained blank-faced as Deidara continued, "Zetsu says you are to report to him immediately, without question, Yeah." He paused, and then said with a smirk, "You'd best go now, Yeah."

"Very well, I understand." Ayaka gave a slight bow to him, turned to leave, paused, then continued walking towards the door and said without turning around, "Oh, and Deidara, sir…I don't believe that master Konan will be happy to learn you spoke of Lady Haruno in such a way." By this time Ayaka had reached the door and had opened it, but before she left, she turned around and added, stressing the last word, "You'd best not do that…_yeah_?" then she immediately closed the door without waiting to see what his reaction was. In the background, Tobi started laughing.

Deidara was furious, that much was obvious as he spun around to glare at Tobi. Tobi 'eep'ed and hurriedly said, "Tobi's sorry, Tobi's-" his apology was ruined, however, due to his failed attempt to hold back his laughter. He started to laugh again and said, "That was funny! Big sis just-OW!" Deidara had punched Tobi, effectively sending him flying _and _shutting him up at the same time. Once Tobi skidded to a halt, however, he shot back up to his feet and started to yell at Deidara.

The next thing Sakura knew there was a small explosion that sent Tobi flying a second time. As Tobi recovered from his second flying lesson, Deidara yelled at him angrily, "Tobi, one more word and I'll kill you, Yeah!" Deidara paused, took a breath, then said as if he'd just remembered, "Oh, and Zetsu's angry with you too, Yeah. You haven't done your job again, Yeah."

There was a moment of silence…and then Tobi ran out of the room screaming at the top of his lungs, "OH NO! TOBI'S BEEN A BAD BOOOOOY! TOBI FORGOOOOOOOOOT!" He was out of sight long before his voice quit echoing down the hall.

* * *

Sakura rubbed her ears that were ringing due to Tobi's loud voice, and only belatedly noticed that Deidara was doing the same thing. Deidara noticed at the same time she did, and he apparently wasn't happy with what he noticed because he hollered, "Don't copy me, Pinky, Yeah!"

Sakura twitched, "I _wasn_'t copying you…and don't call me 'Pinky'! I've got a name, use it!"

Deidara scoffed, "Why would I care to remember the name of a weak little girl like you, Yeah? You're not worth my time, Yeah…I don't even see why we're keeping a weak little twerp like you alive, Yeah. It'd be better if we just killed off a no good liar like you who drags our name in the mud by claiming to have killed master Sasori, Yeah!" That little outburst was all the warning Sakura got before a bomb blew up near her, sending her flying.

Sakura landed on her feet and glared at Deidara and was about to yell at him for having attacked her unprovoked, but she didn't get the chance as she saw another bomb flying towards her. Sakura jumped out of the way of the bomb as she thought furiously, '_What does that idiot think he's doing? Is he that upset that I killed Sasori? No, it sounds as if he doesn't think I'm even capable of such a feat. So is it because I killed Sasori but he doesn't want to believe it because he thinks I'm weak?_'

As Sakura evade the next bomb sent her way, her thoughts got even angrier, '_How dare he think I'm weak! I mean, I know I'm not the strongest person in the world, but like Itachi said, I'm in no way weak! If only I could use my Chakra, I'd show him how _weak _I am!_' Sakura got up close to Deidara, surprising him with her burst of speed, as she thought, '_I may not be able to give it my all, but even without my Chakra, I should still be able to teach this jerk who's weak!_' With that thought, she punched Deidara square in the face.

Sakura immediately initiated a second punch, this one aimed for his stomach. Deidara, however, recovered quickly enough to block her second punch and then try to kick her in the side. Sakura ducked under his oncoming leg and grabbed it as it went over her head. She used the momentum of his kick to help her spin him around and then throw him into a distant tree.

Sakura ran at him, her fist ready to punch him yet again, but it hadn't been a good idea to throw him so far from her. He had already recovered by the time she got close, and when she hit him, she wasn't too surprised that he went up in a puff of smoke, leaving a log behind. Sakura quickly looked around her, but she couldn't see him anywhere…that wasn't a good thing.

Sakura heard the wiz of an incoming bomb just in time to get out of the way of its direct impact, but it was still close enough that it sent her tumbling until she hit a tree. Sakura barely dodged his next ten bombs as she tried to find out where he was hiding. Finally she pinpointed him hiding among the branches. Sakura raced towards him and he jumped up into even higher branches while he sent another bomb at her.

She had expected this, though, and she had planed around it as well. The bomb came at her, but she didn't jump to the side as she had been doing, she ran right towards it…and then past it. Sakura jumped up into the air a moment before the bomb exploded. The pressure of the explosion gave her the extra boost she needed to reach the higher branches…and to give Deidara the welcoming punch he deserved.

Deidara was now flying towards the ground and Sakura followed, thinking, '_I better keep this fight up close, it's too dangerous to fight like I normally do. He won't use his bombs up close lest he hurt himself as well as me…or at least I hope he won't…but I still can't allow him to get away to fight me from afar. I need to keep him close…and I need to get us out of the trees, they're more to his advantage than mine._'

Sakura kicked Deidara midair in the right direction as she thought, '_I need to find a way to finish this fight before he does something even more rash than he already has. But I'm at a serious disadvantage here. Deidara has his Chakra and his bombs, not to mention he probably has weapons stored for when he runs out of clay. All I can do is heal myself with my Chakra…I can't even use a chakra scalpel…I tried, it didn't work, just like every other Jutsu that could have been useful in this situation. Shoot, what am I going to do?_'

Sakura went in to punch Deidara, but he turned quickly in midair and kicked her instead. Sakura rolled as she hit the ground and quickly got back on her feet…but she wasn't quick enough. Deidara punched her in the gut as she heard him say sarcastically, obviously making fun of her, "What's wrong, _Lady _Sakura, Yeah?" As he sent her flying he then said just as sarcastically, "Oh, did I hurt you, Yeah?" She flew until she hit the group of boulders she and Ayaka had sat among earlier. Sakura hit first one boulder, then another, and then she fell to the ground with a thud.

Sakura tensed up, expecting Deidara to either come in and punch/kick her again, or for a bomb to come her way, but neither of those things happened. Sakura sat up as quickly as her aching body would allow and looked around her. Deidara had disappeared again. Sakura reached up to one of the boulders to help lever herself up, but instead of feeling cold, hard, stone, her hand landed on something else. Sakura pulled it down from the bolder and stared at the little black package that she now held in her hand. It was Ayaka's kunai holder…she'd left it here.

'…_guess you saw this coming before I did._' Sakura's fingers curled around the little black package as a smirk spread across her face, '_This evens out the playing field a little bit…Thanks. I owe you one Ayaka. Now…_' Sakura fastened the kunai holder around her leg and stood up, ignoring her aching body parts, '_time to track him down…it's a good thing I decided to put a dab of my Chakra on him so that I could find him if I lost him again._' and then she thought annoyed, '_Shoot, this means I have to get him back out in the open again…and it took so long the first time_.'

There was no more time to think as a bomb flew towards her out of the trees to her left. Sakura dogged to her right and ran into the trees, following the trail her Chakra dot had left rather than the false path he was trying to get her to follow. Sakura tried to concentrate on her Chakra dot-trail, but bombs started going off all over the place and she had to concentrate on dodging everything she could while avoiding falling tree limbs.

A fist came out of nowhere and hit her in the back. Sakura didn't have time to think, she turned and threw a kunai at Deidara as he prepared to attack her again. The kunai hit him…and in a puff of smoke, it fell, embedded in yet another log substitution. Sakura quickly searched for her dot-trail, but it was gone, '_Shoot! He must have noticed it and gotten rid of it while I was distracted with those bombs! This isn't good, how am I supposed to find him now? I can't just randomly search, he'll blow me to bits before I find him! What am I going to do! Think! Think! What-_'

Sakura barely heard the whizzing in time to dodge something coming towards her from behind. Sakura prepared herself for the explosion to come, but it didn't. Sakura swiveled and saw three shuriken embedded in the earth where she'd stood moments before. Sakura quickly looked around, trying to predict his next attack as she thought, '_Why'd he use shuriken? Is he out of clay or is he just trying to make me think he is?_'

A kunai sliced Sakura's shoulder as she dodged another attack a little later than she should have. '_Idiot, concentrate! You've got to find out where he is!_' Sakura tried to sense his Chakra, but she couldn't, '_He must be hiding it…and I can't do what I did with Itachi, I don't have the time to clear my mind and emerge myself in nothingness, and-_' Sakura barely dodged two of three kunai that came at her. The third one cut her left shoulder, '_and he's not going to give me the chance to think, let alone lower my guard._'

Sakura jumped away from two kunai that were coming her way, but she didn't expect the other two kunai that came at her from two different directions all together. She was able to move most of her body out of their way, but they both cut into her left arm. Now her left sleeve was hanging from only a few threads and she was bleeding from three mild cuts. She pulled off the useless sleeve as she thought desperately, '_Concentrate, Sakura! Concentrate! Concentrate!__** Concentrate!**_'

* * *

Suddenly an odd sensation came over Sakura, she knew where the next attack was coming from. Sakura dodged left a moment before the kunai that were coming her way were even halfway to her. Sakura knew their trajectory and was able to grab one by its handle and instantaneously redirect it back the way it came. She heard a grunt of pain and she knew she'd hit the real Deidara.

Sakura ran in the direction she'd thrown the kunai and soon found a trail of blood, which she followed. The blood trail wound randomly through the forest, but it was getting less and less common the farther she went. Suddenly Sakura saw a kunai coming at her from the corner of her eye. She turned to block it and looked in the direction she'd seen it from…and saw nothing. Only a fraction of a second later a kunai flew at her just as she'd seen before…or at least she'd thought she'd seen. It rang as it hit the kunai she had already put up in response the kunai that she must have imagined.

Sakura saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and even though she knew she wouldn't be fast enough, she tried to hit it with a kunai. The kunai flew and Sakura followed it with her eyes. It was as if everything was in slow motion. The kunai flew towards where she'd seen the movement…just as what she'd seen moving moved into its range…and then it hit…and for a moment, Sakura thought Deidara's curses were echoing, but they weren't, and a moment later, it was his voice alone once more.

Sakura didn't waste time pondering what was going on, she rushed at Deidara and punched him, sending him flying into a tree. She didn't miss a beat as next she kicked him, and then punched him. Sakura wasn't sure, but she thought she saw him move to block her next punch, so she quickly turned it into a feint and kicked him instead, sending him flying (finally) back into the clearing.

Sakura took out a kunai as she followed his flying form into the clearing. Deidara landed on his feet and took out a kunai as Sakura charged him with her kunai. Sakura saw that he was planning to block her kunai with his as he punched her in the gut…but the odd thing was that she saw it with her eyes as well as her mind, even though he hadn't yet moved. Sakura didn't have time to think about it as their kunai came together with a clang and Deidara's fist came at her.

Sakura caught his fist in her hand…and then she barely jumped back in time as he swiveled around out of her grasp and tried to slash at her with his kunai. Sakura threw her kunai at him right as he threw his kunai at her. The kunai flew past each other and both Sakura and Deidara were forced to jump back to avoid being hit.

There then came a lull in their battle as both Sakura and Deidara stood there, breathing hard and glaring at each other. She could have sworn his eyes opened wide for a moment as he looked at her, but by the time she blinked he was glaring at her again. She blinked again and the moment of stillness ended as Deidara quickly made hand signs and five clones appeared. One of the clones rushed her, holding a kunai in each hand.

Somehow Sakura knew the movements the clone was going to make before it made them, and in moments Sakura had made the clone burst into a puff of smoke. Sakura quickly returned her attention to Deidara just as he and the other clones started to circle around her, obviously trying to catch her off guard.

Suddenly one of the clones, she was somehow sure it was a clone and not the real Deidara, charged her and she had to turn to face it in order to block it's attack. From behind her she saw three other clones charge her…'_Wait, __behind__ me?_' Sakura spun in a quick circle and slashed at the oncoming clones…and soon it was just Sakura, Deidara, and his one remaining clone.

Sakura stared at Deidara and his clone as she tried to slow her rapid breathing, trying to figure out what was going on. It took Sakura a few moments to notice something…she was looking at both Deidara and his clone, but…only one was within her line of sight, the other one was…directly behind her.

Sakura's eyes widened as for the first time she noticed both that and that the one standing behind her had a slight glow around it…it was the one she knew was the clone…and now she knew why she knew, '_I must be-_' Suddenly she saw the clone run at her even though it itself hadn't moved yet. And then she saw it beginning to really move just as she had seen. It was as if she were seeing two images at once. Sakura turned just as it came within her reach and kicked it, making it turn to smoke.

From behind her she saw Deidara forming a bomb and at the same time, throwing that bomb. Sakura quickly turned back towards him and ran at him. He had the bomb formed, he was throwing it…but she'd already seen its trajectory. She leapt out of its way and in that same motion, kicked Deidara in the chest with all of her might. He went flying just as the bomb exploded, and then Sakura was sent flying as well thanks to the bomb.

* * *

Sakura hit the ground and rolled until she could get her feet under her. When she stood up, however, the world spun around her and she almost fell back down. Sakura scanned around for Deidara, fighting vertigo all the way, and finally she found him near the boulders she'd run into earlier. He was on the ground, trying to lever himself up using the boulders around him, but she could tell even from this distance that one of his arms were broken and his ankle was swollen, probably sprained. He mustn't have had a very good landing.

Her ears were ringing, but Sakura thought she heard something. She was about to look around her when her vision blurred, the world spun, and a great, familiar pain shot through her chest. Across her blurred vision she momentarily saw a pair of eyes clearly looking at her. But then they were gone, the pain in her chest dissipated, and her vision returned to normal (or as normal as it could be, seeing as it was still spinning a little) and Sakura knew what it was she had heard right before her vision had blurred…or more to the point: _who_ she had heard:

…a _really_…angry…Itachi.

* * *

Itachi had a kunai pressed to Deidara's neck and he was saying something too quietly for Sakura to hear…but she didn't need to hear it to know that things could get really sticky if she didn't do something, and fast. Sakura ran towards them, almost falling twice, and just as she was about to reach out to try to stop Itachi, her foot caught something and this time she really was falling.

Itachi's free hand shot out and grabbed her arm while his other hand kept the kunai where it was. Sakura stumbled to right herself and looked up at him as she said, "Itachi…" Sakura didn't like how raspy and quiet her voice was, but she couldn't do anything about it right now, so she continued, "…stop it." Itachi slowly turned his head towards her, and she saw that his eyes were Sharingan.

Sakura opened her mouth, but she couldn't think of what to say, until finally she just said, "I'm fine, really." Sakura grimaced, she knew she didn't even _look_ fine, so she added "Ok, maybe I'm not _fine_, but you don't need to be so angry. We were fighting…and you know getting hurt is unavoidable."

There was a pause, and then Itachi said in a dangerously low voice, "There is a difference between _fighting _and _sparring_, Sakura." Sakura gulped, she must be tired to have mistakenly said fighting when she was trying to make it seem like this had been a friendly sparring mach that maybe got a little out of hand. Itachi turned back to look at Deidara as he then said, "Deidara was attacking to kill, Sakura. I can see that, even if _you _won't."

Sakura shook her head, she knew Deidara hadn't been planning to kill her, though she couldn't say how…though she also knew he _had_ been planning to beat her within an inch of her life...but he _would _have left her alive. So why was she standing up for him? He was a pompous jerk who had just insulted her _and _tried to nearly kill her, so why was she now trying to stop Itachi? '_Maybe it's because I know Itachi'd kill him…and it would be my fault…another person dead because of me. Or maybe it's because…_'

Sakura reached up and put her hand on Itachi's arm, the one whose hand held the kunai, and put enough pressure on it to let Itachi know she wanted him to lower it. "Itachi…I'm not after revenge. Yes, Deidara hurt me, but maybe you noticed, _I_ did a number on him as well. It doesn't really matter who began it…and really I don't even _care _who would be considered the winner. _All _I want is for the both of us to get something out of this fight…_not _revenge. After all…I've seen enough people seeking revenge to know how pointless it is."

Slowly Itachi lowered his arm, but his Sharingan stayed fixed on Deidara as he said, "I won't kill him…but I can't promise he'll be alive once our Leader and Konan return…after all, he went against a direct order."

* * *

There, that was a majorly ginormous chapter (over 46OO words) . You all have been bugging me to give you longer chapters, so here its was. I hope you enjoyed it. People have been asking whether or not I'm going to be putting Inner Sakura in, here's the answer: I already have as much as I am. I am not going to be outright saying '_Inner Sakura yelled blablabla..._', but for instance '_Idiot, concentrate! You've got to find out where he is!_', I think of that as being Inner Sakura. Also, people are asking for more ItachiSakura moments...I'm trying to do so...I just need to find a place where I can fit a lovey-dovey moment in (it's not as easy as you might think).

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, **Circles**, that there is a link to on my profile)…if you were to flame, however, I'd send you to Itachi…who, as you can tell, really isn't in a very good mood right now. Well, I guess it's time to go on to the _pretty list _(that is pathetically short)!

Thanks to: Megan Elyse, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura,krazykoreangurl, cherryredblossom, Selene98, Jay95, aznkitty180, Ilse Montague (I fixed it), Quiet Moon, Crazedchocolatefan, sakura-angel113, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, Sakimi1014, LadySakuraForest, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, moonbeam28 (we must be in different timezones because I updated it early in the morning where I live u), SnowWolfSpirit, crystal (I just write), akatsuki's hikari, SpeedDemon315, sandwich-chan, rinnyzito, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (It's fine with me, I love reviews), xokatherine229, Hao'sAnjul, Kinomi-chan (thank you), Fallen to Earth, Reishii-Chan (yes, I did), Spirit Seer (I don't mind waiting, as long as I get your lovely reviews), NightWing101, Ri-16-Chan, Marika-Uchiha, Cster, Taki-kun (very funny, it even made Wolf-Chan laugh!), dark Alley, Inuyasha2847684 (I see), & CosenAngel, for reviewing!


	29. Respecting Smart ‘Idiots’

Disclaimer: Don't make Deidara call you an idiot, let alone stupid (come back and read this again after you've finished this chapter if you don't get it the first time 'round).

**Chapter 29: Respecting** (if grudgingly)** Smart 'Idiots'**

Once Itachi left the training room, carrying a very pale Sakura, Deidara sighed in relief. He hated to admit it, but Itachi scared him…especially when he was angry like he had been. Deidara let himself relax as he sat down on a boulder, looked up at the night sky visible through the glass ceiling, and thought back to his and Sakura's fight.

He had already been in a bad mood even _before _Zetsu had told him that he was going to have to baby sit 'Lady Sakura'. When Zetsu said that it was because his precious artworks would give away their position he got even angrier. And then Zetsu had told him he had to deliver a message to both Ayaka and Tobi on top of having to baby-sit…which made him even _angrier_. And then Ayaka had made fun of him and Tobi had been stupid…which made his anger reach new levels.

By the time he'd gotten to arguing with Sakura, he'd already been about to explode. Then as he argued with her, the old hatred he'd had against her for saying she'd killed Sasori rose again (he'd watched her spar with Ayaka, and she was no where near good enough to have even dented Sasori, let alone killed him. She was weak and a liar, and he was going to prove it.)…and then he _really_ exploded…or at least his bomb did. And the fight had begun.

He'd had to admit while he was fighting her that she was fast, but she still would have been too slow, let alone too weak, to have hurt Sasori. That knowledge made his anger levels rise even more as he kept thinking about how she was dragging the Akatsuki name through the dirt. And that thought had lead him to how both Konan and Zetsu kept telling him to speak respectfully to her. Why should the Akatsuki respect her when she was a fake? At one point he'd been so angry that, when he'd punched her, he'd called her 'Lady Sakura' in such a sarcastic way that it had been obvious that he thought just the opposite of her.

Once he'd retreated back into the trees and he'd seen her not follow his fake trail, he'd known she'd had to have done something so that she could track him. So as he'd run deeper into the forest, he'd searched to figure out what she'd done. When he'd found her little dot of Chakra, he'd been a little impressed (only a _little_ though), that she'd been able to do so without his knowing.

He knew that she would notice if he messed with what she'd done unless he distracted her, so his hand had automatically reached for his pack of clay. He was discouraged to find that it was almost empty, and then he remembered that he hadn't refilled it when he'd come in from patrolling, he hadn't felt it was necessary…he wished he had. He saved enough clay to make one more bomb that he planed to use later when he was closer to her, the rest he used to distract her. While she was being pummeled by his beautiful artworks, he used the substitution Jutsu, put the chakra dot on it, and sent it to attack Sakura.

He'd then used the weapons he kept on him for times like these to cut her up more from a distance (it annoyed him when he noticed that Ayaka had left her kunai pack so that Sakura could use it…though he hadn't noticed it before now, he hadn't been looking for it either). But then something odd happened after she'd torn off what was left of one of her sleeves, revealing an odd scar. It was almost like she started anticipating his attacks. He hadn't expected that, and because of that, he'd gotten his own kunai stuck in his arm. He'd pulled it out and moved away from the area, knowing she'd follow.

He'd moved around silently, and he had eventually set it up so that when she entered a certain area following his 'blood trail', a kunai would shoot at her from one direction…and he would be hidden in a different direction, ready to attack her while her back was turned. Once again it was like she'd foreseen his actions, because she turned to meet his trap the moment his trap released the kunai. While her back was turned, he sped through the trees silently, preparing to attack her. He knew it would be impossible for her to see or hear him in time to react…

…yet somehow she must have noticed him, because she threw one of Ayaka's kunai at him just in time for it to lodge itself in his shoulder (at this point he'd cursed Ayaka for interfering with his fight). He didn't have time to think as he was thrown against a tree. She'd kicked him and then punched him, but he read her muscle movements and knew that she was going to follow up with a second punch, so he immediately moved to block it.

But once again it was like she'd anticipated his movements, because she switched at the last moment from a punch to a kick. This unexpected turn of events ended up with him flying back out into the open (probably what she'd been trying to do from the start, seeing as the trees gave him the cover to attack from). He'd landed on his feet and met her oncoming kunai with his own, and prepared to punch her.

He didn't even look her in the face as she caught his punch in one hand, he'd somehow expected that that might happen. He didn't waste time as he quickly turned the situation to his advantage as he swiveled, hoping to slice her with his kunai in the process. She reacted quickly enough, sadly, so it hadn't worked. Then they'd both thrown their kunai at the same time, and thus had to jump back at the same time.

* * *

Then he'd looked her in the face for the first time…and it became clear to him how she'd anticipated his attacks. He'd forgotten that she was supposed to have a Kekkei Genkai. Her eyes were ice blue and her pupils were mere specks that the blues of her eyes seemingly ignored while they flickered all over the place. As her pinprick pupils glared into him, he had gotten even angrier: she was _cheating! _Now that he thought back on it, he was the first one to cheat, not her…he'd known this battle wouldn't be fair with her Chakra suppressed…but at that time, it hadn't occurred to him, and even if it had, he still probably wouldn't have cared.

In anger, he'd made clones and sent one to directly attack her while he and his other clones surrounded her, once again hoping he could attack her from behind. She'd quickly defeated his clone and he'd sent first one other one to face her, and then another three to attack her from behind. Soon it was down to just him, one clone, and her, and as they stood there, breathing hard, he'd watched as one of her pupils followed his clone as it moved behind her until he could no longer even see her pupil…while her other pupil stayed focused on him and the blues of her eyes kept flickering all over…it creeped him out (not that he admitted it at the time).

He'd known they were getting to the end of their battle, which meant it was almost time to use his last piece of clay. Then he'd seen her eyes open wide as she noticed something, and in that moment, he had his clone rush her while he worked on his last bit of art…he'd decided this finally would be a real _bang _if he had anything to say about it.

He'd aimed for her and sent his bomb forward, but she dodged it like she'd known where it was going to go and she kicked him, hard, in the chest; and as he flew, he knew she'd fractured some of his ribs. Then his bomb exploded, increasing the speed at which he flew through the air, and one of his arms hit a boulder. He heard a deafening crack as pain shot up his arm. He tried to stop himself, and his foot got caught between two boulders, effectively slowing him down enough so that the next boulder he hit was the last, but also effectively spraining his ankle.

Deidara had started to leaver himself out of the boulders but found that he was having a hard time getting off the ground. He heard Sakura stand up and he shot her a look as he continued to rise to his feet. Her eyes were blue for only a moment more, and then in a flash, they were green again, though her pupils were still tiny, and her hand flew to her chest as she crumpled to her knees. He'd barely had a moment to recognize that this was the same thing that had happened to her when she'd gone outside, because suddenly a deadly aura was in the room. That was all the warning he'd gotten before Itachi had him at kunai point.

He'd really thought he was going to die. Itachi rarely showed emotion, and the few times Deidara had seen him show any form of emotion, it was always something like annoyance or anger…and whoever had caused that show of emotion tended to die a very painful death. Deidara truly expected to die, and he expected that Sakura would be happy when she found out. And then to his surprise, as Itachi reminded him in his deadly whisper that he had gone against their orders by attacking Sakura, he saw Sakura run towards them out of the corner of his eye.

Itachi had caught her with the hand that wasn't nearly killing him without even looking at her. And then that pink haired girl said something to Itachi in a voice that, though quiet and raspy, was obviously an order. She'd told Itachi to stop…and as Itachi turned his Sharingan on her, he'd wondered if she had a death wish...because ordering Itachi to do _anything_ was practically asking for death for anyone other than those above him, like their Master or their Leader. He was, however, glad that he no longer had to feel the blunt force of the Sharingan, though he still figured that his death would come soon.

He'd thought that she had started babbling when she went on and on about being fine. And he'd wondered why it almost sounded like she was trying to protect him from Itachi's wrath. They were enemies, so why would she try to do that? Then, to his surprise, Itachi answered her…Itachi rarely answered _anybody_! What was _with_ this girl?

Deidara had mentally agreed with Itachi, she must be blind to have not noticed that he had been fighting her full out…he would have killed her without hesitation, given the chance…and the way he figured it, she would have killed him too…but now that he thought about it…she probably wouldn't have killed him unless she had to, after all, it had sounded like she was trying to save him, for all the good it would do her (as he had figured at that time).

Deidara thought about it a moment as he stared up at the almost full moon, and finally he decided that he probably _wouldn't _have killed her, not completely at least. He would have left her alive so that he could have rubbed it in her face that he'd won. But he hadn't won…and Itachi had had his kunai pressed to his throat, so he'd figured he was about to loose everything, including his life (the way he'd seen it, he'd already lost his dignity by losing to her, so there wasn't much more reason to live) And...his death was inescapable anyways. If Itachi decided to kill you, you could count yourself dead.

The girl apparently didn't understand this concept, because she had continued on to say, "Itachi…I'm not after revenge. Yes, Deidara hurt me, but maybe you noticed, _I_ did a number on _him_ as well." Deidara had had to grudgingly agree to that, "It doesn't really matter who began it", he had to say he'd definitely disagreed with that, "…and really I don't even _care _who would be considered the winner." and he _really _disagreed with that (of course it matters who won, especially when it's obvious that _you're _the winner! How could she not care!?), "_All _I want is for the both of us to get something out of this fight", '_like what_' he'd sarcastically wondered, "…_not _revenge. After all…I've seen enough people seeking revenge to know how pointless it is." Deidara _could _believe that, he knew a bit about her history.

And then, possibly the most surprising thing, to him at least, happened: Itachi lowered his kunai. Just like that! Itachi did what she wanted him to do! He had then, of course, reminded both him and her (though the look on her face made him believe that this was the first she'd heard of it) that he could still die for disobeying his orders not to try to kill her…but at least it wouldn't be Itachi who punished him for disobeying (though the thought of Yuri punishing him wasn't much better).

Then that pink haired idiot (who he was starting to believe knew things that he didn't know about that made her not such an idiot) shook her head, paused as if she was dizzy or something like that, then said she was going to heal him as much as she could with what little Chakra she had left. Apparently with her, the surprises never ended…and he had once again begun to wonder if she was an idiot. Who in their right mind would heal the person who'd almost killed them?

Thinking back, Deidara chuckled, apparently _she _would…then again, he had no proof that she _was _in her right mind. And then Sakura, that pink haired idiot, pushed herself beyond her limits and ended up unconscious…which obviously had lead to Itachi picking her up and leaving the room, taking his deadly aura with him (of which Deidara was grateful for).

A thought struck Deidara and he glared at the moon. Quickly he swept up a rock from the ground and threw it at the moon. It bounced off the glass and almost hit Deidara, causing Deidara to transfer his glare from the moon to the rock. He kicked the rock and sent it hurtling into the forest as he thought angrily, '_Dang it, now I owe her! Why'd she have to be an idiot and save my life?!_'

Deidara's ankle began to throb from the kick, reminding him of something else he now owed her for: healing his injuries until she collapsed, completely ignoring her own. She was an **idiot**…and he _owed_ her for it. He still, _definitely_, didn't like this idiot…but after battling her, he knew that she wasn't as weak as she appeared, and that for all that she _was _an idiot, she _wasn't _stupid…and beyond that, she'd made him owe her (even if it was unintentional), and that for all these things, though he hated it and whished it wasn't so, he had to admit that she had gained his respect.

In some ways she reminded him of Sasori, one of the other few people who had been able to gain his respect. Even Itachi didn't have his respect, his fear maybe, but not his respect. He didn't respect many people; he saw no reason to, especially not people like Tobi, who were stupid and childish. He still was _far _from liking Sakura, but she _had _earned his respect…and that in itself was something to be surprised about.

Deidara was now sure…with Sakura Haruno, the surprises never ended.

**

* * *

**

AN:

This had been going to be the end, but I made this next part, and it was supposed to be for the next chapter, but I decided: 'Hey, it's just a little after Valentine's Day (I actually wrote it on Valentine's Day), and you all have been dying for some Itachi/Sakura' so here is at least a little bit for you. Be happy (and REVIEW).

* * *

Itachi had just carried Sakura into her room when he felt her stir in his arms. He sat on her bed and held her on his lap as he waited to see if she would be waking up soon. As he waited, he stroked her hair, trying to calm himself down. He knew that Sakura would be fine once she regained enough Chakra to heal herself, but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. It also didn't stop him from wanting to kill Deidara. If Sakura hadn't stepped in, he'd have made sure that Deidara suffered thoroughly for what he'd done to her.

Sakura's light voice cut through his thoughts, "I'm fine, Itachi," Itachi looked down at her while he repositioned her so that she was sitting more upright, "so stop worrying…and stop it with that angry, 'I'm going to kill Deidara', aura. You are not going to kill him." Itachi just 'hn'ed'. Sakura sighed, what else could she expect from an Uchiha.

It was then that Sakura noticed for the first time that Itachi was holding her. She blushed, "I'm fine…you can let me go now." Needless to say, that didn't happen. Instead Itachi pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her gently, obviously being careful not to aggravate her injuries. "Uhh…" Sakura began, unsure what to say as she noticed that his aura was still pretty angry, though somewhat better than it had been before, "…Itachi…?"

There was a long moment of silence, and Sakura figured that Itachi wasn't going to say anything…and then he spoke, "Don't lie about being fine, Sakura." Sakura cringed, she knew he was right. She cringed again as she heard the well hidden anger in his next statement, "You shouldn't have stopped me."

Sakura immediately retorted as she turned around quickly (much to her body's protest) and glared at Itachi, "You would have killed him--"

Itachi interrupted whatever she had been going to say next by bluntly stating, "He would have killed you." Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but Itachi cut her off with a kiss. When they broke apart, Sakura was blushing, but she continued to glare at him, though her glare had lost some of its edge.

Finally she turned back around so that she wasn't looking at him anymore and crossed her arms in a huff. After a few moments of quiet, he heard her whisper, "I still don't think he would have killed me."

Itachi's grip on her tightened as he growled, "I _know_ he would have." Itachi paused, then as gently as he could in his angered state, he made Sakura look at him, "I won't kill him this time, but…if he's still alive after our Leader comes back, and he does this again…he _will _die. I'm not as forgiving as you are. I don't give people I dislike second chances."

All was silent as Itachi looked into Sakura's eyes, showing her that he was dead serious. The silence was finally broken by Sakura's yawn. Itachi's eyes softened as he hugged her, then stood up and walked to the door. Before he closed the door behind him, however, he called back, "Good night, Sakura." The door closed before she could respond.

* * *

Wow, I didn't think that that idea alone would compose a whole chapter. I figured that the idea of Deidara looking back on their fight would only take up half a chapter at most…boy was I wrong. Oh well, that means that the rest will have to wait for later (and it also means that I'll have more time to come up with what all 'the rest' is…I have some ideas, but we'll see what all happens…even I'm not always a hundred percent sure what will happen until it's all typed out, take the length of this chapter for instance).

I thank you peoples so much for getting the review numbers back up to normal, keep it up!

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, Circles, that there is a link to on my profile)…and I'm sure I needn't give the details of what will happen to flamers. Now on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: LilBitzer, anonymous, krazykoreangurl, Spirit Seer (I love to get reviews from you, but I would realy perfer that you use the review button rather than the PM's, that way I can go back and read your review if I feel like it, unlike with my PMs, where when they're gone, they're gone), snowecat, Jay95, Theblackroseofkonoha, Quiet Moon, benswife, Selene98, Ri-16-Chan, Kayamie1224, cherryredblossom, magickbendingdemon, samurai-heart-forever, SpeedDemon315, sakura-angel113, 4theloveofholy, lizzpercush, TeenageCrisis, animal.cracker.assassinator, LovelyLittleAngel144, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, black55widow, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio, xokatherine229, Kinomi-chan, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura (i'm not sure, but probably over 40), Sakimi1014, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Hao'sAnjul, 10tealeaf, DragonMaster Reborn, Crazedchocolatefan, CherryBlossom9470 (thank you), xMissxPepperx (thanks for the long and funny review), puppydog20038, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, Cster. rinnyzito, MusicLuva, LadySakuraForest, aznkitty180, crazilyinsanelady, Fallen to Earth, dark Alley, Silent Sinner Abella, Raina Darlig, Megan Elyse, chester-roxs, akatsuki's hikari (I can't, it takes way too long), CosenAngel, EverMindTheRuleOfThree, fightinsurfgrl, Marika-Uchiha, moonbeam28 (Sure), & SekhmetDaCat (Thanks for the long review, and yes, it was because Zetsu was her previous master...and the reason Zetsu's taking over is because he can get direct orders from either Leader or Master) for reviewing!


	30. Shattered Dreams

Disclaimer: If you dare even _think _it, Choji will pop out of nowhere and send you flying! (you'll understand this eventually)

**Chapter 30: Shattered Dreams**

_Little Sakura was playing with little Ino in a field of flowers. They were laughing and running around just as little kids always do. Ino threw a flower into the air, it went up, and came down a ball. Ino passed the ball to Sakura and they started to play catch. Out of nowhere, Choji and Shikamaru appeared and joined their game…or at least Choji did. Shikamaru was just watching while complaining that this was troublesome. Little Sakura just laughed and ran to catch the ball that Choji had overthrown. The ball touched her hands…then everything changed. The world around her shattered into a million pieces, leaving her in darkness._

* * *

_Suddenly Sakura found herself sitting on a black rock in the middle of a never ending lake. Sakura blinked a couple of times, trying to ignore the odd sensation that she was feeling, but it didn't work. As she sat there, Sakura noticed that nothing was happening, nothing at all, '_Whoa, this is weird. I've never heard of a dream with nothing happening in it before._'_

_And truly nothing was happening. Sakura stared at the water that was far below her, but never once did it move at all. She was so high up she couldn't even see her own reflection, only the rock's reflection and that of the clear blue sky above. Sakura turned her gaze upwards, but of course there weren't even any clouds to watch. Sakura returned to watching the water, but still nothing was happening. '_Ugg, I hope I'm not stuck here for too long, 'cause if I am…this is going to be such a drag…AGGH! Now I sound like Shikamaru!_'_

_Mentally Sakura was banging her head, but outwardly she just sighed and stood up on her rock, trying to see if she could find a shoreline off in the distance. Sakura squinted, was that white in the distance? Could it be sand? Sakura squinted harder, but the, whatever it was, seemed to be moving out of her sight…or had she just imagined it? Sakura just sighed again and sat back down._

_After a while of doing absolutely nothing, her thoughts drifted. The top thing on her mind was Itachi and what he'd said. What he'd said both scared her and worried her, and not just about Deidara's life either. Itachi didn't forgive easily, she should have known it…she __did__ know it…but…it…she wasn't worried about herself, but…what would happen if…_

_Sakura shook her head; she didn't want to think about that. It wouldn't happen. For now, she should focus on what to do about Deidara. It was his life at stake, not someone else's. She didn't want him (or anyone else for that matter) to die because of her. Too many already had…their deaths weighed upon her conscience…and she hated herself for them._

_Sakura thought hard, but she still could only think of one thing to do. Itachi had said that it was up to their Leader and Yuri to decide if Deidara would be allowed to live in the end…and Itachi had made it seem as if he didn't believe that Deidara would. So it only logically made sense, if Deidara's life hung on the decision that their Leader and Yuri would make when they returned, then the only thing to do would be to wait for them to return…and hope that she could convince them not to kill him (and Deidara would probably hate her for __that __too (as if he didn't already hate her enough)…he didn't strike her as the kind to be grateful for having his life saved)._

_For a long time Sakura sat and tried to figure out what she could say to sway their minds. Yuri probably wouldn't be too hard, but the real problem was their mysterious Leader. She knew nothing about him (was he even a him?), so she couldn't be sure what approach would be best. Finally Sakura just decided that she would have to come up with many different approaches, and then she could decide which would be best once she met their Leader. Sakura continued planning for a long time, but finally she had used up all her possibilities. Now what? What else could she do to occupy herself?_

_After a while, her thoughts drifted to Konoha. '_I hope everyone's ok. They're all probably worried sick, I've been gone for so long. I wish I could see them, tell them I'm all right. But I'm the Akatsuki's prisoner. No matter what anyone says, no matter how well they treat me, no matter how they try to make me feel like I have my freedom, I know I don't. I know that they would never let me see my friends…I can only hope that everyone's ok._'_

_Sakura gave a half smile as she tried to imagine what her friends were doing, '_I bet Ino's yelling at Shikamaru for being lazy and at Choji for stealing the last potato chip. Shikamaru's probably wishing that she would shut up and get a boyfriend so that he could get some peace and quiet. Choji probably wants her to get a boyfriend as well, though for a different reason altogether. Too bad for both of them that Ino's oblivious to their thoughts on that mater._'_

_Sakura laughed quietly to herself (Who else? She was sitting on a huge rock in the middle of a huge body of water in the middle of nowhere! Who else would she be able to laugh to?). '_I bet Lee's going crazy with me gone. Maybe he'll get over me this time…though probably not…he never changes. That means that poor Tenten and Neji will have to deal with him. Well, if they're lucky, they'll figure out that they like each other as more than friends. That should help them live with the problem that is Lee._' Sakura smiled at the thought of Tenten and Neji finally getting together. '_And maybe with Neji out of the way, Hinata will finally be able to confess her love to Naruto._'_

_Sakura's smile fell at the thought of Naruto. '_I hope he's ok, but I have a bad feeling. That idiot's the kind of guy to rush out and try to rescue me from the Akatsuki, even though he would know it would put him in danger. I really hope he doesn't do that. Please, Naruto, you idiot, don't do it. Don't try to be a hero. You're like my brother, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died because of me. You still have to become Hokage, Naruto, don't try anything stupid! Don't get yourself caught! You have to-_'_

_Sakura's thoughts were cut off as the rock under her started to shake. Sakura stood up, trying to see what was going on, but she soon fell back to her knees as the rock began to shake even more. What was happening? Sakura put her hands on the rock, trying to steady herself, and found to her horror that her rock was beginning to flake away. Farther below her she heard the sound of small rocks hitting the water. '_Well, I wanted something to happen, I guess I got my wish._' Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed that the sky was changing._

_The worst of the shaking stopped, though the flaking continued and the rock now seemed to be rocking back and forth. Sakura could now chance looking away from her rock and found that the sun was setting so that the sky now looked more yellow and orange than blue. Sakura stood up then looked out and down at the water. It was obviously no longer smooth, seeing as her rock was still swaying back and forth. _

_In the distance, Sakura once again thought she saw something. She squinted, but now what she was seeing looked more like it was greenish rather than whitish. Sakura blinked, then looked at the water again and saw that it was reflecting the sunset's yellow and orange as well as her rock's bl…wait, her rock's reflection looked like a very dark, dull, red…it must be the sunset's doing, why else would the rock be red?_

'No,_' Sakura thought as another flake fell off the rock into the water below, leaving a red spot in it's previous place on the rock, '_the rock is red…at least now it is. It must have only had a black top layer; either that or it just changed, like things are known to do in drea-_' Sakura had to break off her thoughts as her rock gave another great shudder, throwing more and more of itself into the water below and leavening less and less for Sakura to perch upon._

_Suddenly the rock underneath her was gone, broken into a million pieces, and she was falling. As Sakura sped towards the water, she caught a fleeting glimpse of her rippled reflections. Sakura hit the water, but the water was now glass and broke under her impact. The world around her shattered as well, and Sakura continued to fall into the unknown. For a moment, everything went black._

* * *

_There was a flash of white light, and Sakura saw little Sakura arguing with little Ino. They were in a park that Sakura remembered from her past. Ino was sitting on one end of a teeter-totter, trying to get Sakura to get on the other end so that they could play. Little Sakura, however, refused, and little Ino yelled "You better get on Sakura or else! Teeter-totters don't work with only one person!"_

"_Fine!" Little Sakura exclaimed, but instead of going to the other end, she walked up to where it was balanced in the middle and sat on the seesaw. "There, I'm on it! You happy now?"_

_Ino growled, and was about to snap out a retort when from out of nowhere a not-so-little, little Choji appeared and sat on the open end of the seesaw, making Ino's end shoot upwards instantly. Ino screamed with infuriation and ordered Choji to get off. He did, and she instantaneously came crashing back down; after which came more screaming and yelling as Ino jumped to her feet and started to chase Choji, threatening to kill him. Meanwhile little Sakura was still perched on the midpoint of the teeter-totter and was giggling as she watched them._

_For no apparent reason, the scene before Sakura began to crack like glass, and soon the pieces were falling, leaving nothingness in their place. Sakura wasn't sure, it happened so quickly, but she thought she heard a voice coming from the piece of 'glass' that Ino and Choji were in, "Too bad, she hasn't the Chakra to keep this up much longer..." The voice wasn't Ino's or Choji's, however…and it didn't really even sound completely human. Sakura didn't have time to think on it, however, as a bright flash of light consumed her and…_

* * *

…_she was searching once more through the Akatsuki building for the door that led to who-knows-where. As had happened every other time, she was flashing through the hallways as if she knew where she was going…if not completely how she was going to get there. There were times, as always, where she seemed unsure of which way to go, but she always quickly made up her mind and continued. Once again, as always, she kept speeding up from a fast walk to a jog, and eventually to an outright run._

_Sakura sprinted down the hallway filled with doors and (as always) came to a jarring halt in front of the one door that was locked. Once again Sakura felt an overwhelming need to get to whatever was behind that door. She had a bad feeling, like she was about to find out something she didn't want to be true, yet knew deep down that it was true._

_As Sakura's hand touched the door handle, that odd sensation from the previous dreams came over her. This time Sakura was sure that when she first tried the door's handle, it wouldn't budge, but that as the sensation grew, the handle began to give way. Then, as the handle relented, the sensation did a quantum leap before fading into the background, almost completely disappearing. It was in that moment also that fine lines, once again like cracks in glass, began to spread across her sight._

_Sakura's heart was pounding as she pressed her weight against the door, mentally willing it to hurry up and open before her dream ended. But it wasn't to be. The moment the door began to move, the already fractured vision shattered and-_

* * *

Sakura sat up with a gasp, her hand flying to her racing heart. '_What was with that dream? It was even weirder than the previous ones about that stupid door._' Sakura let herself relax as her heartbeat returned to normal, then flinched as the wounds she still had from her fight with Deidara protested her moving at all. '_Guess I better fix those now, I should have enough Chakra after having just slept for who knows how long._'

But that wasn't so, as Sakura found out when she reached for her Chakra. '_What? My Chakra's barely better than it was when I went to sleep,_' Sakura looked at the clock, '_and it's almost my normal wake up time too…wait…_' Sakura paused as she recalled what that odd voice had said in her dream '_**"**__Too bad, she hasn't the Chakra to keep this up much longer.__**"**__, what could that mean? And what about my reflection-Was I…using my Kekkei Genkai again? I guess it's possible, but then why haven't I felt that guy's Jutsu strangle my heart again?_'

'_Maybe Ayaka's latest guess was right. Maybe his Jutsu isn't as perfect as he'd like us to think…or maybe I'm overanalyzing this and it really was just a dream (albeit a really weird dream). Hmm…I guess I could tell my cousins about it, after all, Hanako and Inuka_ are _Dream Walkers, so they should be able to tell what's a real dream and what's a…Walking dream? Would that be what you call it? I guess it works…though it's a little tacky._'

Sakura sighed and carefully got out of bed, trying not to aggravate any of her wounds. '_I guess I better get ready for whatever the future holds for me…I think I'll start with a shower._', she thought as she remembered that she had fallen asleep right after her battle with Deidara and her chat with Itachi. She hadn't even changed out of her dust-covered, bloodied, ripped, clothes, '_Eww…I feel gross…_'

* * *

There, I think that will have to do. I know it's a bit short, but hey, the previous two chapters were longer than normal (not to mention that the end of the previous chapter had originally been a part of this chapter)! And it's always hard to make dream sequences long…I don't know why, it just is.

I've made a poem from Hinata's point of view, if you would like to go read (and review) it.

I'll try to still update on time, but the problem is that right now finals are getting close _and_ I am now taking an ACT prep course (not to mention that I'm a club officer and that I'm preparing for the Language Fair), so the homework is...let's just say time consuming. I'll try to update on time, but i'm not getting much time right now to type...though I'm trying. I know I won't have time today (Saturday) to type up the next chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, Circles, that there is a link to on my profile), but as to flames… use your imagination. Now, let's get to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: krazykoreangurl, Quiet Moon, Theblackroseofkonoha, Spirit Seer (annon reviews are fine with me. You may do it however you want. And you should know I can't answere your questions without giving anything away.), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4 (thanks), magickbendingdemon (Happy birthday late), samurai-heart-forever, ArjunaAnja, Selene98, RyuMiko, SpeedDemon315, Crazedchocolatefan, , MusicLuva, Jay95, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, xokatherine229, Jax9, Kinomi-chan, cherryredblossom, aznkitty180, Cster, sakura-angel113, .assassinator, Hao'sAnjul, Ri-16, Sakimi1014, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura,  (even I don't know if he will die or not...yet), Marika-Uchiha (thank you very much. I may one day, but it wouldn't be my primary job...unless I did get famous, but that's not very likely), rinnyzito, chester-roxs (I know, T-T, I'm trying to speed it up, but there's so much important info you guys need to know), LilBitzer, crazilyinsanelady, LadySakuraForest, This is my name (thanks for your opinion), dark Alley, Megan Elyse, unknown child in the dark (I know, I'm trying), akatsuki's hikari, & NightWing101 for reviewing!


	31. You Are!

Disclaimer: Story -plus- me -plus- this site -equals- What?**  
**

**Chapter 31: You Are...!  
**

Once Sakura finished telling her cousins her weird dreams, she saw Inuka and Hanako smile. "You were Dream Walking all right!" exclaimed Inuka as she leaned forwards, and then, "OW!" as she lost her balance and fell off the bed. "That hurt!"

Hanako giggled lightly, and then said seriously, "It's your own fault, Inuka. Now stop playing around, this is serious. Lady Sakura has just had a prophetic dream." Hanako turned to look at Sakura as she explained, "Prophetic dreams don't happen very often, so when they do it's a big thing. When someone has a prophetic dream, all the Dream Walkers are supposed to get together and try to decipher the hidden message. Sometimes the message can be very important…though not always. Our first prophetic dream, for instance, had been telling us that Inuka was going to lose her first baby tooth by biting into an apple…that she stole from me." Sakura heard Inuka's muttered '…did not.' It wasn't very convincing.

"I see," Sakura began slowly, "so does that mean the weird dreams I've been having about that door and these new dreams were prophetic dreams?"

Inuka shook her head 'no' exuberantly from her new seat on the floor, but once again it was Hanako who explained calmly, "Not all of it. You see…prophetic dreams have certain characteristics, and the major one is that they don't directly match up to what they are trying to tell you. The part about the lake and the rock are for sure prophetic, and the part about the seesaw may also be a part of it, though I'm not sure about that one."

"But the part about looking for the door isn't a prophetic dream. It's too…exact. And there's also the fact that you said you've had it many times before. Like I said, prophetic dreams don't happen often. It may be that you were _just _Dream Walking, not having a prophetic dream, or it may be that it was just a normal dream. I wouldn't be able to tell you which it was unless Hanako and I were with you when you were having the dream."

Sakura nodded, "That makes sense. So, what do you think it could possibly mean?"

Hanako's eyebrows furrowed in concentration while Inuka closed her eyes and started to tap her fingers repeatedly to some unknown tune. The room became thoughtfully quiet (short of the consistent tip tap of Inuka's fingers). To everyone's surprise, it was Noya, the only non-Dream Walker among them, who came up with the first possibility. "The scene in the beginning, about being on the rock in calm water, could mean a time of peace, when nothing is going on."

"I bet you're right!" exclaimed Inuka, "Noya, you're a genius! I never would have thought of that!" Hanako muttered something under her breath that Sakura didn't catch, but which Inuka apparently did as she then shrieked, her face bright red, "Shut up!"

Hanako just shrugged off her sister's complaint and began to speak as if Inuka hadn't ever said anything, "That makes sense. If that's so, then the part about the rock falling apart and rocking back and forth could mean that something big, probably catastrophic, will happen. The long gap between your arrival and that probably then would mean that nothing will happen for a long time, and then everything will come at once from out of nowhere-"

Inuka butted into Hanako's description, "But what about the sunset and the color change of the rock. What do you think those mean!" Hanako glared at her sister, "What? I want to know!" Hanako sighed and then continued giving her ideas.

* * *

Hours passed (they had decided not to do any medical work today since Sakura needed her Chakra to build up so that she could heal herself) and slowly the subject changed as they ran out of things to say about the dream. "So, what was with that awful bow you two did when my mother-Junko-appeared? Why was she so up at arms about you not bowing like that to me?"

The twins just looked at each other, as if they were mentally arguing who would tell her about it; eventually Noya just sighed and took over for them, "Lady Junko was the thirty-sixth Pillar, that's why the bow was necessary. You see, the Hoshi clan is-was…" a pained look passed over Noya's face, but he quickly pushed it away and continued, "…was very strict, especially when it came to formalities. Since the Pillar is the center of our society, it only makes sense that she, or he, be treated with the utmost respect."

"Lady Junko was angry because she felt that we weren't giving you the proper respect…and it's true, we weren't. But, you see, until Lady Junko pointed it out, we weren't really sure if you were to be given all the respect of the Pillar because…" Noya paused and scratched his head, "Well, it's a bit hard to explain. I guess you could say that we weren't sure because neither of the ceremonies to appoint you as Pillar have been done. We weren't completely sure that you automatically were the Pillar just because you are the only Time Walker…but apparently you are."

Noya paused uncertainly, apparently unsure of what else to say, so Sakura gave him a little push in the right direction, "What are these ceremonies you were talking about?"

Noya opened his mouth to answer, but Inuka beat him to it, "There're two of them!" she answered energetically, "But we really only know about the first one, the other one was for Time Walkers and elders only." Inuka crossed her arms and pouted, "Why did they have to be so secretive?"

Hanako hit her sister lightly on the head before taking over, "Quit pouting. Anyways, the one we know about, Lady Sakura, is the one that the whole village…" once again there was that sad pause with its quick recovery, "that all those of _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_ participate in. It's the basic one that, as far as I know, allows the chosen one to become the Pillar and thus have access to the Great Knowing as well as the Knowing that all Time Walkers are capable of accessing."

Hanako paused, then added, "We already told you some about the Knowing…you know, the part about how Time Walkers could prophesize about the future and all that jazz. Well, the Great Knowing is like an extension of the Knowing, but only the Pillar can access it. I'm not quite sure what all makes it different from the regular Knowing other than it's supposedly more powerful or precise…or something like that. Our father never would answer us that question."

Hanako trailed off, her face showing well-hidden signs of sadness at the thought of her late father. Inuka stood up and silently sat beside her sister, giving her a hug. The silence wasn't broken until a knock came at the door; it was Tobi. "Tobi brought lunch. Tobi is being a good boy!"

Sakura peeked out the open door as her cousins ate (and Tobi hoarded food to eat later). She saw both Itachi and Deidara, who looked almost like he was under house arrest. Maybe in a way he was (after all, he had, according to Itachi, gone against his orders). "Aren't you guy's going to eat?" Itachi just 'hn'ed and Deidara just grunted, looking away from Sakura. Sakura sighed, what did she expect, "Fine, don't answer. If you want anything, just ask; there's plenty to go around." With that she quietly closed the door and went back to eat with her students.

* * *

They had just finished eating when Inuka spontaneously exclaimed, "I have an idea!" She then pulled Hanako and Noya closer to her and whispered something to them. Then both Hanako and Noya began to whisper as well, leaving Sakura and Tobi (who had disappeared for a while, probably to eat, but was now back) to be confused. Finally the threesome broke apart, each with a small smile on their face as Inuka turned to Tobi and asked happily, "Hey, Tobi, can you get us some salt? Lots and lots of salt! A whole bag of salt! A gigantic-"

Hanako covered her sisters' mouth and said calmly, completely ignoring her sisters' muffled protests, "A medium sized bag of salt will do, thank you." Tobi blinked a few times in confusion, then slowly nodded his head and left the room.

"What's going on you three?" Sakura asked, "Why in the world would you need a bag of salt?"

It was Noya who answered (Hanako was by this time wrestling with Inuka to keep her hand over the louder twins mouth, therefore too busy to explain), "It was Inuka's idea that we could do the Pillar ceremony so that there will be no doubt that you are the Pillar. I know it probably doesn't mater too much to you, Lady Sakura, but it matters to us." He paused, then continued, "We'd have to wait for Lady Junko to find out what the second ceremony is, but we could still do the first one since we know it…though I'm the only one who knows all the words since it's done in the Ancient language."

Sakura nodded her head slowly, understanding that this was more for their piece of mind than for anything else, "So…what happens in this ceremony? What will I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything other than stand where we tell you to, and stay there until the ceremony is over. We'll be the ones doing everything." Sakura nodded her head to show she understood and that he could continue, "I'll speak the words in the Ancient language while the three of us create the proper symbols on the floor with the salt. Then I'll begin the main part of the ceremony…it will all be in the Ancient language so you won't understand a word of it, but…anyways; the twins will bring forth a little bit of each of the four elements and will place them in their proper places…After that I just finish it up with more of the Ancient language. It's pretty simple, actually."

Just then Tobi came in, carrying a bag of salt over his shoulder. "Tobi did what Tobi was told to. Tobi is a good boy!"

Hanako let go of her sister (who made a drastic show of finally being released…and was ignored) and walked over to Tobi, "Thank you, please put it on the floor." Tobi did, and then Hanako began to lead him towards the door, "We'll call you if we need anything else." Once he was back in the hallway, she promptly closed the door and turned back to Sakura, Noya, and Inuka, "Well, I guess we'd best set things up…near the window would probably be best for all of us."

* * *

And so it began. Things went just as Noya had said they would, and truly it would have been boring if not for two things. One was the fact that she got to see the twins use their ability as Elemental Walkers to create small balls of earth, water, fire, and air (the air one reminded Sakura of Naruto's Rasengan…only less dangerous).

The other interesting thing was listening to Noya speak in the Ancient language. At first, she'd only been able to make out what sounded like 'Airda blablabla Vasser blablabla Foier blablabla Ausowgluft blablabla' etcetera, etcetera. But then she'd heard _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_, and soon after she started to catch full phrases, though she couldn't figure out what they meant. The language itself was beautiful, and if not for it, she may have fallen asleep due to boredom…because her cousin's hadn't thought to tell her that the ceremony took over an hour…_way_ over an hour.

Once they were finally finished they cleaned up the room and then Sakura decided that they should 'explore' again…partially because she was stiff from having stood still for so long…and partially because she was still determined to memorize her way around this maz-er-building. With that in mind, they entered the hallway where both Itachi and Deidara stood. Her cousin's just kept on walking, but Sakura stopped. "Where'd Tobi go?" she asked as she noticed the orange-masked boy was missing. To her surprise, it was Deidara who answered her.

"Zetsu is speaking with Tobi right now, Yeah. Don't know why though, Yeah…You'd best catch up with those brats before they're gone, Yeah." Deidara pointed, Sakura looked…and saw that her cousins were almost to the end of the hallway. She quickly ran after them, calling for them to wait up while she wondered what was with Deidara's change in attitude.

'_Oh well, who cares __why __his attitude's better; I just hope it stays that way._' Sakura thought as she caught up to her cousins and they chose the next path they were going to follow, '_For now I should just have fun exploring with the others since I have time to kill. After all, Itachi told me when I asked him this morning that their Leader and Yuri would probably be back late tonight. I'll confront them then._'

* * *

After Sakura had said good night to her cousins she pulled Itachi aside and spoke quietly so that Deidara wouldn't hear her, "Would you take me to where I can meet Yuri when she gets back. Please?" Sakura smiled up at Itachi and waited for him to answer as she thought, '_It's probably better not to add that I also want to speak with their Leader…'cause then he'd know for sure that I wanted to speak to them about Deidara…and I know Itachi wants Deidara dead._'

After a long pause, Itachi spoke, "Why do you need to speak with Konan right when she gets back?"

Sakura laughed awkwardly, "Well, uh…let's just say it's a girl thing." then thought, '_It's a good thing I'd thought about that excuse ahead of time. Hopefully he'll be thinking something completely different from the truth and won't ask any more about it._' There was another long pause, but finally Itachi nodded, took her hand, and started leading her down the hall. Deidara followed behind them, looking a little peeved to have been left out of where they where going.

After walking for a long time they finally reached a dead-end hallway with three doors, one on each of the three walls. By that time Deidara was fuming and finally he shouted, "Why are we here, Yeah!?"

Sakura ignored him and turned to Itachi and asked as if she'd just thought of it, "Is there a restroom near by?" Itachi nodded and pointed to the door on her left. Sakura smiled and said, "Thanks, I'll be right back." She then entered the bathroom and closed the door as she thought, '_Wow, that was a streak of luck (weird, normally I have horrible luck). This way I can keep up my 'disguised' reason for being here and not miss their return._'

Sakura smiled and giggled, '_And this way I don't have to lie to anyone about anything. Itachi will tell Deidara why he thinks I wanted to speak with Yuri while I'm in here…and since I purposefully chose my words to make them sound like I was speaking about…something girls only deal with…_' Sakura giggled again, '_I wish I could see his face! Though…_' Sakura sighed, '_…knowing Itachi…he'll probably still be emotionless. Deidara's the one more likely to show emotion…_'

When Sakura exited the restroom she found that Deidara had his arms crossed and was looking at the wall opposite her. "I'm done, so…" Sakura paused, then asked as if she didn't know, "What's wrong Deidara?" Deidara just grunted and kept looking at the wall. It was minute, but Sakura could have sworn his face was slightly red. "Fine, don't tell me. Hey, Itachi, how long do you think it'll be?"

Itachi just 'hn'ed', but Sakura understood it to mean that he didn't know. Sakura sat down with her back against the wall to wait. From what he'd said earlier, she knew that they couldn't be sure when exactly they'd get here, it could be in five minutes or five hours, but they _would _get here either late this night or early the next morning. '_Well, I may as well heal the last of my wounds…I healed most of them throughout the day, but I still have a few cuts left on my arm._'

Once Sakura was finished healing herself she just sat there until a thought hit her. "Oh, yeah." Sakura turned to look at Deidara (who was still looking at the wall), "Well, since we've got time on our hands, I should probably finish healing you, Deidara."

Deidara's immediate response was, "No, I'm fine, Yeah!" He never looked away from the wall.

"_Sure _you are…that's why you are still limping." Sakura just smiled as Deidara finally turned around, glaring at her. "Don't forget that I'm the one who began healing you, and I know what's left and the extent of those injuries." Deidara just continued to glare at her.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Itachi spoke first in a very threatening voice, "_Deidara_…" Deidara gulped as he also noticed the dangerous aura that Itachi was emitting, but he continued to glare at Sakura, obviously refusing to be healed.

Sakura quickly stood up and positioned herself between Itachi and Deidara while appearing to merely be getting closer to Deidara in order to heal him. She said sternly, "I'm going to heal you whether you like it or not, so deal with it." Sakura paused as Deidara continued to glare at her, then added something she knew would make Deidara agree to the healing, "Stop acting like a child…you're worse than Tobi."

"Fine, Yeah! Get it over with and leave me alone, Yeah!" The deadly aura in the background intensified, but Sakura ignored it and got to work.

Once she finished she got back up, took another 'trip' to the restroom, then sat back down where she had been sitting earlier. It wasn't long before her eyelids were drooping…she'd probably used up more Chakra than she should have. '_No, I have to stay awake!_' Her eyelids drooped again and…

…the sound of a door unlocking woke her up. Sakura stood up, rubbing her eyes, and looked at the now opening door. It opened just enough to allow Yuri to walk in. When Yuri saw them, She stopped in the middle of the doorway and asked, "Sakura?! Why are you here?"

Sakura began walking forward, saying, "Well, you see, Yuri-" She cut her self off, however, when the door was opened the rest of the way by an auburn haired man. Sakura stopped in her tracks and after a moment she started shaking.

Yuri took a step forward and asked worriedly, "What is it, Sakura?" Sakura didn't seam to hear her as she just kept staring past Yuri's shoulder. Suddenly Sakura spoke, her voice quivering.

"Y-y-you a-are-"

* * *

There, what a wonderful cliff for you all to hang on. I'm evil aren't I? Wait…don't answer that.

If this chapter seemed choppy or more rushed than normal, I'm sorry, but so many people asked me to speed things up, so I'm trying. The problem with speeding up is that I have to leave out things and I also have to do a lot of skipping around. My being rushed lowers the quality of my work (at least to me if not to you), but if 'rushed' is what you want/prefer, then that's what I'll try to give you. If not, then tell me.

Ok, here's the way things are. I ended up updating today, but I haven't written another chapter (so I'm completely out of chapters to give you at the moment). Next week I will for sure not be updating (which is the only reason why I updated today) because I will be in Oklahoma for my cousins wedding. That said, I will try to find time to write, but it may not happen until spring break, so you may have to wait.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum,Circles, that there is a link to on my profile) but flamers shall be made sick by Sui-chan -_Sui-chan_: I refuse to be siiicc... _JUCHKO_: Whatever...you just fainted from a high fever. _Wolf-Chan_: AGGHH! Sui-chan! I told you to go home! You _are_ sick. _JUCHKO_: She's correct, Sui-chan. Anyways, review...it is a necessity. On to the (SHORT!) _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, krazykoreangurl, panicatthediscotime, Selene98, CosenAngel, xokatherine229, Hao'sAnjul, cherryredblossom, Spirit Seer (thanks, I need all the luck I can get, 'cause like Sakura, I have none), Jay95, .assassinator, CryingBlackCherryTigerBlossoms, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Crazedchocolatefan, EverMindTheRuleOfThree, sakura-angel113, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, SpeedDemon315, aznkitty180 (yes, there were clues in chp 30), akatsuki's hikari, Cster, Marika-Uchiha, LadySakuraForest, Silent Sinner Abella, rinnyzito, dark Alley, Fallen to Earth, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, & moonbeam28 for reviewing!


	32. Alive?

Disclaimer: If suspense is killing my readers…does that make me a murderer?

**Chapter 32: Alive?**

"Y-y-you a-are o-one of the o-ones th-that k-ki-killed my f-father!"

Yuri's face showed evident shock as she began to say, "What do you mean? Sakura, your father's-"

Yuri stopped speaking, however, when a scoff came from behind her and was followed by Pein's voice. "Me? Kill your father? …now little girl, what would make you say that?"

Sakura felt herself twitch at the 'little girl' comment, but it probably wasn't noticeable since she was still shaking (though whether she was shaking in fear, anger, or even something else entirely, she couldn't really say). Sakura tried to steady her voice as she answered angrily, "I Saw you there! I Saw you in that field of bodies! You and that other guy! You killed my father along with the rest of his comrades! I _Saw _you there! You _can't _deny it!"

Pein made an odd sound, something like a mix between a scoff and a guffaw, "I see…so _that's _it. Little girl (Sakura twitched again), did you actually see me kill your father…or did you just see my brother and I standing in that field?" he barely paused before he continued, making Sakura twitch again, "You never saw us kill him, little girl…because we never did."

For a moment, Sakura thought her heart had stopped. "_Wh-what_…?"

Something small, somewhat like a smirk, spread across Pein's face as he took a few steps forward, passing Yuri, and said, "You must have Seen only the very end of what happened that day, otherwise you'd have known…" Pein paused a moment as if he'd just remembered something, then he continued as he began walking once again, "…that only thirty-five of the forty were killed that day…and your father wasn't one of them. He and the four others we took with us, whether they wanted to come or not." He then walked past Sakura and continued down the hall.

Sakura's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't find her voice, but she knew that if she didn't say something quick, he'd be gone and she would lose her chance; so she yelled the first thing that came to her scrambling mind, "Let me see my father!" Pein didn't pause, he continued walking forward as if he hadn't heard her. Anger filled Sakura. How dare he ignore her, "Hey! Get back here and let me see my father _now_!"

Pein paused a moment, as if in dramatic suspense, then slowly turned his head until his glare was fully set upon her. Finally he spoke, "Child, you'd best not speak like that to me."

Sakura twitched, then angrily retorted while trying to stop her fisted hands from shaking (this time she knew for sure that it was from anger), "First off, I'm _not _a child. Second, I'll talk to you however I want to. And third, I want to see my father **NOW**." An odd silence encompassed the corridor as she stood there shaking and glaring at the amber haired man in anger.

Pein's gaze hardened, adding a frightening aura to the odd silence. Then, in that silence, a small smirk appeared on his face…but it was hard to say what emotion it was trying to convey. It seemed to be a mix between the type of smirks that say 'this child doesn't know what she's talking about', 'the girl's got guts', 'she's stupid to have spoken to me like that', and also, possibly, 'I know something she doesn't know'. There was something else too, but Sakura wasn't able to figure out what that last thing was until Pein spoke.

"No."

That was it. That's all he said. And Sakura knew what the final ingredient of that smirk was. It was the knowledge that no mater what she said, he wasn't going to tell her. That he felt she was too insignificant to relay an answer to. Sakura was barely able to hold herself back as her anger swelled within her at his dismissal of her.

And then she saw satisfaction on his face for… was it for having denied her of seeing her father? Hadn't it been enough that he'd denied her of her friends, of her village, of her freedom? Now he felt it was ok to tell her that her father was actually alive! Twisting her heart with hope, only to deny her of the chance to finally meet him…to find out for sure that he really was alive? He found that _satisfying_? '_How _**dare **_he!_'

…Sakura...had...snapped…She funneled as much Chakra into her fist as she could (constantly fighting against the wall she had come to know as the Jutsu that was binding her Chakra) as she charged the man she only knew as Leader; the man who was toying with her already damaged heart for his own enjoyment. Everything happened so fast, within a matter of seconds, but to Sakura, she noticed everything as if it had happened in slow motion.

For a moment, as Sakura had surged forward, she'd gotten an odd feeling, one that seemed both familiar and brand-new at the same time. The next millisecond, as she was glaring into his eyes and charging with her fist raised, that feeling increased drastically along with a new sensation of having more pressure, more gravity, thrown upon her shoulders, trying to slow her down. But Sakura hadn't let it bother her, she'd just kept going.

Another millisecond and something moved into her path, standing between her and that jerk of a Leader. Sakura came to a screeching halt and glared up into her 'wall's' eyes…and her eyes met red… Her last coherent thoughts before she slipped into darkness were, '_Sakura, you idiot! You forgot about his Sharingan!_'

* * *

Itachi caught Sakura the moment her body began to fall and lifted her into his arms. He had been afraid something like this would happen. He shouldn't have agreed to take her here. He had let her put herself in danger again… Itachi started walking towards the one door that hadn't been used yet when his Leader's voice carried to him in the still air of the corridor.

"How unusually…_kind_…of you, Itachi. But you needn't of worried. I wouldn't have killed her."

Itachi just 'hn'ed' and continued walking forward. As he passed Yuri, however, he decided to pause long enough to convey a message to her, "The reason Sakura was here tonight was to ask you not to kill Deidara."

That said, he continued walking as if he hadn't said anything. Behind him, as he opened the door, he heard Deidara sputtering something around the lines of 'What! But you said-'. He ignored Deidara and closed the door, continued walking through this room, to another door, then out into another hallway; his destination: Sakura's room.

As he walked, he thought yet again, '_I shouldn't have agreed to let her come when I'd known she was lying about the reason. She may be good at hiding the truth from most people, but she should have known that such deception wouldn't work on me…I know her too well._' He'd known right away that she'd lied about the real reason she wanted to speak to Yuri, but he'd understood why.

He'd known it was because she knew that he would prefer for Deidara to be given the appropriate punishment for having tried to kill her…and he knew that she didn't feel that what Deidara had done deserved death, even though it did. He also could figure out the other reason she hadn't wanted to tell the truth was because she knew that Deidara, being the ungrateful fool that he was, would probably cuss her out (or something similar to that) for trying to save his life.

Once they entered her room, Itachi laid Sakura on her bed and then sat beside her. She'd wake up soon enough…and she'd probably be angry with him. He would have to explain to her that he'd done what he'd done not to hinder her, but to make sure she didn't get herself killed. Even if she had been at full strength (which she wasn't), she wouldn't have been able to take on Leader; he was out of her league… She'd probably get angry at him when he told her that too.

When Sakura finally woke up, her glare told him that he was in even hotter water than he'd thought. He was in for an earful…oh well, it was probably better to let her vent her anger now and explain later, once she'd calmed down.

* * *

Once Yuri had finished with Deidara and had cleaned up she headed towards Sakura's room. But when she entered the hall that the door to Sakura's room was located in, she heard a raised voice, and though she couldn't understand the words, she knew it belonged to Sakura. By the time she reached the door she could understand the words perfectly.

"…ow could you!"

Itachi's voice then said in his normally bland tone, "Sakura, I already told you; it was for your own good. You wouldn't have been able to-"

Sakura's voice then cut him off, "I don't care!", Sakura's voice was still angry, but now sadness began to let itself be heard in her voice as she continued, "At least I would have tried! But I didn't get to…you stopped me. And now I won't get to…I didn't…I never will…" And then Yuri heard Sakura begin to cry.

There was the sound of movement, and then Sakura's voice returned, though it was now so quiet and tear-strung that it was barely comprehendible. "All I wanted was to meet my father, Itachi, that's all I wanted! To see for myself that he was still alive. I never knew my father, my real father. The only 'father' I've ever known was my uncle…but he always was reminding me that he wasn't my father.

"Even when I was a little kid and I called him 'daddy', he would always say to me, 'No Sakura, I'm your uncle, not your father, you know that. Your father was a great man who died for his village.' And then, once I entered the Academy, my aunt was constantly saying, 'Sakura, your father would be proud.' And I had always wondered…Was he really a great man? Would he really be proud of me?

"All I know of my father is what people have told me. I want to _actually_ know my father. Itachi…I know you hated your father, and you probably don't get why this is bothering me so much, but-" Sakura's words were broken by what sounded to be a mix between a sob and a hiccup, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that at least you knew your father. That's all I want…to get to know my father…I don't know if he even cares about me, I don't know if he'll like me or not, or if I'll like him…but I'll never know if I never meet him and get to know him."

Sakura started sobbing again, and Yuri couldn't listen anymore. She turned around and exited the hallway, walking wherever her feet took her, so long as it was away. She couldn't stand to even hear Sakura be in pain. She was so desperate to meet her father… Yuri stopped walking. '_Perhaps I can…it won't be easy, but…maybe, just maybe I can convince him…_' Yuri began walking again, but this time she knew where she was headed.

Yuri pulled up just short of the door she was headed for. She knew that on the outside she looked as calm and emotionless as she always did, but that wasn't the case inside. Inside herself she was fighting a battle…was she truly confident enough to do this? Could she really just walk in there and make her request?

She knew that there would be a price to pay…and she had a pretty good guess as to what it would probably be. Would she be able to make herself pay it, though? That was the question. Could she really go through with it? Could she really be willing to pay _that_ price, if it came to that? Could she?

…She'd have to, for Sakura's sake.

It took a moment more for Yuri to regain control of her legs and force them to continue forward, and then again to force herself to knock on the door…but she did. She had to do this…she couldn't stand for Sakura to stay sad like that. Then she was bid to enter, and she did. Her legs now moved on their own, she had made up her mind. She would do whatever it took to keep Sakura safe and happy…

…even _that_.

* * *

There, I'm sorry for the long wait, and I'm sorry if this wasn't as long as it could have been, but I figured you'd prefer to get this chapter on time rather than to have to wait anther day or more. Also, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I wrote this on Friday night until my father ordered me off the computer, and I didn't have time to do much in way of editing. Another reason is because I haven't been able to send this to my editor yet (for the same reason it's shorter than normal). I'll get my editor to fix it when I can, but she's on vacation this week, so…yeah…

I'm so glad you people didn't think the last chapter was choppy. I'll try not to rush and I'll try to update next Saturday (April 5), but in order to do that I have to write not just one, but two more chapters. I feel like I've fallen so far behind, and I have, but I've been so busy with schoolwork and other things beyond my control. Well, at least Finals are over (my school has Finals every quarter).

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, along with people going to my forum. Flames, however, will have to deal with the Easter Bunny of Doom. Mwahahaha- cough, cough-_anyways_…let's move on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, Theblackroseofkonoha, xokatherine229, krazykoreangurl, sakura-angel113, ArjunaAnja, Jay95, panicatthediscotime, Kinomi-chan (I'm fine with you writing a poem, but don't cut yourself...please), Neko Kirako, MusicLuva, .assassinator, black silk, 10tealeaf, chester-roxs, Hao'sAnjul, aznkitty180, (I love long reviews), akatsuki's hikari, rinnyzito, LaReSaKa, sammyamber123, RyuMiko, Selene98, SpeedDemon315, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Fallen to Earth, Crazedchocolatefan, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, cherryredblossom, dark Alley, black fire blossom, NightWing101, Spirit Seer (No, I havn't played that game. Yes, it was phonetic German. And...I don't think most peple would be happy with the 'a year or more' part), moonbeam28, hikaru123, Raina Darlig, LadySakuraForest, sakura4594, XxXxxSakuraxxItachi4eveXxXX, & Shikasgirl001 for reviewing!


	33. Leaving the Cage

AN/Disclaimer: Just in case anyone has forgotten, let me remind you that this is a fanfic, that not everything I write will match up exactly to the real manga, that some things I completely made up out of thin air (ok, my mind, but same diff), and that I haven't seen/read all the new stuff that's happened, so therefore I can mess things up without even knowing it. Take that into mind and store it into your memory bank, thank you.

**Chapter 33: Leaving the Cage**

Yuri closed the door behind her, then strode forward until she was a yard away from him. He spoke, "I take it you didn't kill him."

Yuri answered emotionlessly, "You said I could punish Deidara however I saw fit. His worst flaws are his pride and his ego. I believe that the best punishment for him would be to leave him alive, if just barely. He knows why he's still alive, and that will cut into his pride. Beyond that, from here he has only two choices. He can either ask Sakura to heal him, thus stepping on both his ego and his pride, or I'll order Tobi to heal him…and _that _will be torture to both his pride and ego, as well as his body."

Pein took a step forward and said in a serious tone, "The only reason he's still alive is because that's what the child asked of you. Don't forget that I was with you when Master told us what had happened."

_

* * *

_

Their Master was seated on a pillow on the floor, quickly reading the letter he'd been handed. After about ten minutes of reading, he suddenly dropped the letter, closed his blue eyes, and did a series of hand signs…and then he sat stalk still, absorbed in the Jutsu he was doing.

_A few moments later his posture relaxed and he opened his eyes, but they were no longer completely blue…in fact, they were quite similar to Pein's eyes, though not exactly the same. That was to be expected though. After all, they did share the same Kekkei Genkai…Pein just kept his activated all the time whereas Master only activated them when he was using its ability with his Jutsu. The silence only ended when their Master gave a short laugh. _

_After Pein asked what the laugh had been for, their Master answered, "I had been wondering why Junko's message had been so drawn out, it's unlike her to dance around a subject unnecessarily. Turns out she was trying to keep me busy long enough to stop me from noticing when Sakura wormed her way out of my Jutsu's grasp. Since I had to concentrate on the letter rather than my Jutsu, I didn't notice her slip partially out of its grip, and I couldn't readjust my hold on her unless I returned my full attention and power to my Jutsu."_

_He closed his eyes, and when they opened again, they were back to normal. After a pause, Yuri asked carefully, trying not to let any emotions escape into her voice, "Why was she fighting your hold on her, Master…surely she wasn't trying to escape."_

_Master shook his head no, his face serious once more, "No, she's a smart child, too smart to think she could escape with her cousins in tow…and she's too caring to even think about escaping without them." He reached down and picked back up the letter he'd dropped earlier and finished reading it. He didn't finish answering her until he'd reached the end of the letter. He then indicated the letter as he continued what he'd been saying earlier._

"_Sakura was fighting Deidara…I only saw the end results when I went back to strengthen my Jutsu, but apparently Junko already knew everything that would happen. It seems Deidara lost his temper once again, and took it out on Sakura. She put up a pretty good fight, but Junko wrote that if she hadn't used her Hoshi Kekkei Genkai when she had, there was a fifteen percent chance that she could have been killed…and that was obviously unacceptable."_

* * *

Pein continued, "I know you wanted to kill him for endangering the girl that you've become so attached to."

Yuri nodded calmly, of course she'd been angry, "That's true. I've begun to think of her as my own daughter, and I want her to be happy…that's why I decided it would be better not to kill him." There was no point of saying otherwise when they both knew it to be true…Pein knew her too well.

Pein took another step forward and said in a voice that was holding back anger, "You only care about her because she's his child. If she had been anyone else's you could have cared less if she was happy."

Yuri felt like she'd been slapped, but hid her hurt from Pein. She had to work this conversation so that he would grant her request, no matter the cost to herself. "It's true that that was the original reason why I cared for her…but now…I truly care for her as herself. I've adopted her in my heart, and I want her to be happy."

Yuri paused, took a breath, then continued with what she had come to do, "That is why I came to ask you to arrange it so that she could--"

"No."

"But--"

Pein took another step forward, "Only Master can decide that."

"Then please…_please _ask Master! She desperately wants to meet her father! Ask him to--"

Pein cut her off angrily, "And what makes you think he'll listen to me, Yuri?"

Yuri clenched her hands, but otherwise showed no outward emotion, "He'll listen to you…you're his brother after all!"

Pein scoffed, "_Half_-brother…and you know we're not close to each other. We didn't even find out about each other until we met almost twenty years ago."

"Nonetheless, Pein, please ask him. You're the only one who has a chance of getting him to listen! Sakura needs--" In the blink of an eye Pein was right in front of her, his hand lifting her chin so that they were staring into each others eyes.

There was a moment of silence, then Pein spoke, his voice both soft and harsh at the same time, "Yuri…why must you become like this when it comes to that little girl." Yuri just stared at him. Hadn't he understood what she'd said earlier? It became apparent that he hadn't as he continued speaking, "I know that he's the only reason you care so much about her, but--"

Yuri tried to cut in, "That's not true! Weren't you listening? At this point, I could find out that she wasn't his daughter and I would still--"

Pein just raised his voice and spoke over her, ignoring her words completely, "…but we both know your love of her father is futile." Yuri flinched at that…she did know that…she truly did. She'd known ever since she'd met him that his heart had already been taken…that she didn't even have a chance, but…she'd fallen for him all the same. Her mind was constantly telling her that it was hopeless, but her heart just wouldn't listen…maybe that was why she'd come to care so much for Sakura, since Sakura understood that feeling of mind vs. heart.

"And, Yuri…" His voice was softer now, the harshness all but gone, "…you know I love you." Yuri tried not to flinch again. She'd known about this too. They had been childhood friends…but, after a time, Pein had no longer been satisfied with being 'just friends'. But 'just friends' had been just fine with her…and then she'd met Sakura's father, and had fallen in love.

By then, loving Pein had been thrown out of the picture entirely…her heart had already been ensnared by someone else. But the one who had ensnared her heart had already given his heart to the woman he loved…and even after Junko had died, he still loved her and refused to give her own love a shot. At one point, after she'd tried to get him to move on from the past, he'd just turned and given her a halfhearted laugh. What he'd said next, Yuri could never forget.

* * *

"_Konan. Time cannot be erased…nor can it be created. There is only so much of it that any one person has. We must not waste this time that we have on trivial matters; instead we must concentrate on the fulfillment of our goals, letting nothing divert or stop us from them…That's what my dear Junko taught me._

"_Both Junko and I had separate goals, but at the same time, those goals were intertwined. Her last goal was to bare our daughter, and to have it be arranged for her to be taken away from the Hoshi and raised in Konoha…even though she'd known that if she went through with it, she, herself, would die. She didn't let it divert her from her goal, however, because she refused to let her daughter have the same curse put on her as had been placed on herself. The other half of her goal was to help me with my goal…you should already know what that is, Konan._

"_I have not been wasting my time…I have been constantly working towards my goal, letting nothing deter me. But you haven't. I don't know exactly what your goal is, but I do know that it shouldn't have me being a part of it. You've let yourself be blinded from your true goal for far too long…and I fear I am to blame. That is why I will tell you this now…you should move on._

"_I no longer have it in me to love anyone other than my dear Junko and our little Sakura. What you feel for me is not true love, for I can never return it. I may be tied down in the past…but __you__ are tying yourself to a nonexistent future. That is not your goal…so move on. You've been distracted by me for long enough."_

She'd understood what he'd been saying, but she couldn't bring herself to move on. She'd made herself believe that she still had a chance, that he'd finally understand that Junko was dead but that he was not…and neither was she. She'd been living under that false hope for so long…and then Junko made her appearance.

The moment Junko had said who she was…it had been like a wrecking ball had come crashing down on her hopes, tearing them apart bit by bit. It had forced Yuri to see that he truly would never get over Junko, not when she could interact with the living, even though she was dead. Still Yuri had clung to her shattered hopes, like a child to her favorite doll.

* * *

Pein's voice broke through Yuri's thoughts, and brought her back to her current situation, "I don't like to see you like this, Yuri." Surprisingly, his voice wasn't angry. Instead it was caring…maybe even a little worried, "You hide it well, but inside you're suffering, you can't deny it." He really knew her too well. "It all stems from you refusing to give up your hopeless crush on that girl's father!"

Yuri just looked him in the eyes as she thought, '_I know that. I'm as bad as a child hanging onto a broken toy that can not be fixed. I've hung onto my hope for so long, that even being shattered wasn't enough to make me let it go. I still clung to it, I still am, but…even a child will one day grow up enough to understand that refusing to let go of what has been broken can be dangerous to their well being._'

As the silence lengthened, Yuri became aware of the fact that Pein must have read her emotions somehow, even though she had hid them (she had yet to figure out how he did it), because now he was looking at her strangely, almost as if he were contemplating something. And then he kissed her. Yuri had naturally tensed up when she'd noticed what he had been going to do, but this time he was unusually gentle and the kiss ended mere seconds after it began, though Pein had barely pulled away from her at its end.

Pein's voice was quiet when next he spoke, but was none the less sturdy and easy to understand, if not believe, "I'll ask my brother for you, but you must promise me you'll give up on _him _and…" he paused as if to make sure she was listening carefully, "…that you'll give _my _love a try."

Yuri felt herself give a slight tremble despite all her control of her outward appearance. She'd feared it would come to this. Maybe she'd known all along that there would be no other choice…no…there was no 'maybe' about it. Deep down she had known for sure that there was only one price that Pein would accept…and possibly further down, beyond that bit of knowledge, there was something else she'd known.

It was time to move on, time to let go of her shattered hopes that were really just shattered dreams. Just as with shattered glass, holding on to shattered dreams would only tear her apart more and more the longer she struggled to keep them with her. It may have been an accident when she'd become ensnared, but it hadn't been an accident that she'd stayed that way for so long.

After all, he had opened the door for her long ago when he'd said that he was incapable of loving her…but she had just refused to exit through the opening in the cage that she, herself, had created. She hadn't wanted to leave, but now she had come to realize that there was a world outside of her cage that she had been ignoring…that there was a girl who needed her help, and that she could only administer that help if she left her pointless prison.

Pein's face inched closer to hers, not that there was much space left between them to begin with, and he whispered, "If you agree…kiss me back this time." And then his lips had captured hers again. For a moment Yuri hesitated, but then she forced herself to take that first step out of her doorless cage. She didn't know if this was the right path to take, but any path was better than holing herself up and choosing no path at all. Yuri had made up her mind…she responded to his kiss for the first time.

'_It's time to finally leave this cage of mine..._'

* * *

There…I hope no one had _bad _thoughts when I had said '**that**' last chapter…if you did, shame on you; you should all know by now that I would never write something…_bad_…don't forget that this is only rated T, and there is no way I'd ever write something above T rated…and also don't forget that I have absolutely no experience in love whatsoever, so I'd be incapable of writing things like that. It's hard enough to write the mushy scenes I've written so far.

I'm sorry if the flashbacks bothered anyone, but they had important info that I needed you to know. Wolf-Chan also hasn't gotten to this chapter yet (she's still gone, I guess), so I'm the only one who's edited this so far, so there may be errors.

There is now a link on my profile to a picture of Sakura and Gaara from ACC made by Spirit Seer. Also, I'm officially a Beta-reader now.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, as are people going to my forum. Flamers, however, will be hit over the head with a frying pan…hey, be glad it wasn't a rolling pin.

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, panicatthediscotime, Jay95, animal.cracker.assassinator, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, SnowWolfSpirit (hey, you've caught up to where your sister's read...at least for the moment), Theblackroseofkonoha, RyuMiko, krazykoreangurl (sure...if you can find him), sakura-angel113, xMissxPepperx (actually, I didn't get any chocolate at all...but I did get a slice of cheese cake), akatsuki's hikari, Crazedchocolatefan, LadySakuraForest, Kinomi-chan (thanks, I fixed it. I didn't have a calander in front of me), aznkitty180, xokatherine229, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Raina Darlig, ForgiveButNeverForget (you'll find out more about the cerimony later, once Junko reapears), Rest In Peace Itachi-kun, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, dark Alley, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio (yes, I like your long reviews, they are funny...and don't worry about them being too long, I've had even longer ones, and I've written longer ones than even the ones I've recieved), crazilyinsanelady (I hope you don't mind I used your frying pan idea), Hao'sAnjul (I know, I said I was sorry it was short), RoanMoon, Animeprincess514, & Fallen to Earth for reviewing!


	34. Not Another Door!

Disclaimer: Long live the cliffhangers!

**Chapter 34: Not Another Door!**

Itachi looked down at the now sleeping Sakura. She had worn herself out with both her yelling and her crying…not to mention her pounding on his chest in both anger and sadness…and she had ended up crying herself to sleep. Itachi sighed mentally, Sakura could get so emotional some times for reasons that were beyond him.

She had been right; he didn't understand why she was getting so worked up about meeting her father. But then again, he didn't have to understand why; he just had to cope with it and try to get Sakura over it. Itachi brushed away a lingering tear from Sakura's cheek as he thought about how he hated to see her like this. He hated to see Sakura cry because there was so little he could do about it.

All he had been able to do was hold her as she had screamed and cried herself hoarse while first pounding on his chest, and then later clinging to him like there was no tomorrow. Most of the time he hadn't even been able to comprehend what she had been saying, her voice had been that muddled.

Sakura stirred in her sleep then laid still. Itachi stroked her hair gently, as if to comfort her. It was then that he heard her mumble in her sleep, "Eh…Naruto…Sasuke…wait…for…me…don't…leave…me…behind…" She was dreaming…probably about Team Seven…still…

Itachi forced himself to remain outwardly unchanged as he stood up and carefully laid Sakura on her bed, pulling the covers over her, but inwardly his hands were fisted. His foolish little brother had hurt Sakura. In her sleep, her voice betrayed her pain…the pain that she was always trying to hide from everyone…the pain that--

Itachi looked up at the sound of a light knock and the door opening. It was a green haired man, probably one of Zetsu's many subordinates…though it may have been one of Konan's or Leader's too, they all were the same to him. The man didn't meet Itachi's eyes, but he spoke calmly, as if unafraid, "Zetsu says he has gotten some information from the Grass ninja you captured and that he will wait for Konan to question him further before he decides what to do with the captive. He also says that some of the information he has gathered may be of interest to you." Itachi nodded and started walking forward.

The man quickly got out of Itachi's way and backed out into the hallway. He watched as Itachi shut the door, paused, then locked the door and continued down the hall, ignoring him completely. Once Itachi was out of sight, the man glanced back at the door before walking the other way down the hall.

_

* * *

_

Sakura was in Konoha, a very run down Konoha, but an active Konoha none the less. All around there were people, both ninjas and civilians, rebuilding the battle torn village. But as Sakura looked on, she noticed that there were far too few ninja…where were all the rest? Suddenly the scene changed, Sakura was now in the Hokage's office along with Tsunade and Shizune. Both of them looked the worse for wear.

_Shizune had a broken arm and a number of bandaged wounds, but Tsunade was much worse off. Tsunade was bandaged heavily and confined to a wheel chair, also due to broken bones, but…she was so pale, so sickly looking, it frightened Sakura. Shizune was speaking, "I'm afraid that Hinata is still too unstable to be sent on a mission, even though she's physically well enough. The shock of her father's death, Neji's being in critical condition and Na…and on top of everything else that's happened…it was too much for her. She needs more time before she can do a mission."_

_Tsunade looked extremely somber as she spoke in a raspy voice, periodically interrupted by coughs, "I understand…we lost so many to Sound again…so many…and even more are injured…or unable to currently fight, like Hinata. We don't have enough good medics left to get to everyone…and _I'm_--" Tsunade cut herself off as a fit of coughs overtook her. Shizune started towards her, her weakly glowing green hand extended, but Tsunade shook her head, "Don't waste your Chakra, you know it won't work--" once again coughs overtook her._

_Shizune backed off, but her face was contorted with held back anger and confusion, "Why?! Why can't you be healed!? What's causing this?! You were just fine before Sound attacked, but after… What's stopping people from healing you, and you from healing?!"_

_Tsunade shook her head sadly, "We can only speculate…but for now there are more important things to worry about. Like how are we going to be able to do all these mission requests with so few available ninja…" The dream slowly faded away._

_

* * *

_

Sakura was now somewhere else, somewhere dark and apparently underground. In front of her there was a door, but in front of that door there stood a man, his ear pressed to the door. The man was dressed in the uniform of Sound, yet, as happens in dreams, Sakura instinctively knew that Sound wasn't where his loyalties lay. He was a grass ninja spying on Sound.

_Sakura walked up to the door to hear what the spy was listening in to, "…is Li's daughter! Are you sure, Kabuto? He could have been lying." It was Orochimaru._

_Kabuto answered him, "I didn't trust him at his word alone so I looked into it and found it to be true. He was a child of rape, and apparently he grew up under his mothers name since his fathers name was unknown to him. He passed his mothers name on to his daughter. It was only after he had left Leaf for good that he found out his father's name, the name that you knew him as. So yes, even though she goes by a different last name, he is her father…but that's not all."_

_After a pause, in which Orochimaru must have motioned for Kabuto to continue, Kabuto said, "I also found out in our interrogation of the Hoshi that there was a prophecy on the girl that went like this:_

_Always has been,_

_and always will be,_

_the greatest Hoshi _

_you'll ever see._

_Blossoming to fullest _

_in time unknown, _

_amongst the spring field _

_and rippled ponds _

_rather than the stars…_

_Just then, the dream faded out. She wouldn't remember these dreams for a while, though, as darkness surrounded her, leaving her forgetful. Was she asleep and dreaming, or…_

_

* * *

_

After a while, Sakura knew she had to be dreaming…either that or just plain remembering…but at the same time, it seemed to be too precise and clear to be either of those. It was more like she was reliving her past rather than remembering or dreaming about it. But, since she knew she couldn't be reliving it and that it was too lifelike to be a memory, she was able to deduce that this was a dream. A very realistic dream, but a dream none the less.

_She was back in the past once more, patrolling the forest with Itachi and Kakashi. It wasn't long before they met up with Orochimaru and Sasori and had begun to fight. Sakura took out a kunai and began to attack Orochimaru, who was fighting with Itachi. Sakura only got in a few attacks before something happened. She was about to hit him with a Chakra enhanced fist, when she froze and collapsed. All she knew was that a horrible pain was coursing through her body. It felt as if her blood was on fire, or as if she was being torn apart from the inside out._

_Pain, pain, so much pain. She knew nothing else. She tried to call her Chakra, but it wouldn't respond. All she could do was allow the pain to flow through her. It took all her willpower not to cry; she knew she succeed in that, but not in hiding her pain... _

_Slowly the pain faded, and as it did, Sakura began noticing things outside of herself. She could hear Itachi and Kakashi's voices, but she couldn't tell what they were saying. It felt as if they were far away…she knew they were nearby, but she couldn't see anything, her eyes were tightly shut, and she didn't have the strength to open them. She couldn't feel anything other than the pain that was now receding._

_For a moment she thought that she may be falling unconscious because she saw for a split second the black 'screen' again. On it's surface she could only make out a pair of eyes before--_

Sakura shot up in bed, the dream-image of those eyes burning themselves into her own eyes, hew own memory…why did they seem so familiar? Then it hit her like one of…no…_a lot _of Deidara's bombs. '_They're the same. That guys' eyes and the ones from back then…they're exactly the same! So it __was__ one of the Akatsuki who did that to me back then! …though I still don't know why._'

Sakura looked at the clock, then made herself lie back down…it wasn't even the next day yet. She forced all thoughts of that Leader guy out of her head, she didn't want to even _think _about him. She was almost asleep when she noticed that she was still wearing the Akatsuki robe and her forehead protector.

Sakura dragged herself back up, then out of bed long enough to take them off, and then hurriedly got back in bed. Just as Sakura was falling asleep, a panicky thought came to her too late to be acted upon: she hadn't gotten to ask them not to kill Deidara. But she was already asleep and soon to be dreaming once more.

_

* * *

_

At first, her dreams were once again more like memories as she relived a number of events from her Gennin days, including their fight with Zabuza and Haku, the Chunin Exams, and that fateful night she had tried and failed to stop Sasuke from leaving. Her dream memories continued as she found out Naruto had also failed, as she trained and eventual succeeded in becoming a great medic, as she defeated Sasori with help from Chiyo and so forth.

_After a while her dreams gave way to what could be considered normal, meaningless, dreams. After one such meaningless dream, this one about trees randomly chasing her and blowing up, she remembered once again that she hadn't asked for Deidara to be left alive (it had been the exploding trees that reminded her…thank goodness for exploding trees). _

_Sakura started to panic inside her current dream (this one about some strange world where there were no ninja's or Chakra and she was a student somewhere like the academy where Gai was the PE teacher, Kakashi an English teacher…and her 'current class', Biology, was being taught by Orochimaru…if she hadn't been so worried about Deidara, she'd have been creeped out to no end about that last part). As her panicking got worse, the creepy biology classroom faded away, and moments later was replaced with what appeared to be a cell with someone or something lying on the ground inside it._

_The room was dark, but even so, Sakura could see that it was Deidara who was inside the prison cell. He was alive, but he was horribly injured. On top of what appeared to be injuries normally acquired through basic torture tactics, he also appeared to have been sliced up countless times with something thin and sharp. Sakura examined the cuts closer (Deidara obviously couldn't see her in this dream, otherwise he probably would have been cussing at her), and found that they looked oddly similar to paper cuts…very large and numerous paper cuts._

_Then to Sakura's surprise, Deidara growled angrily to himself, "Stupid idiot, why'd she have to do that." Sakura wasn't sure who he was talking about, but it became clear as he continued, this time sounding both angry and embarrassed at the same time, "Why can't that idiot figure out I don't want her help. I didn't ask to be left alive." He was talking about her…great…why did he have to keep calling her an idiot?_

_Deidara, unaware of his invisible critic, continued speaking, this time sounding disgusted, "Now Konan thinks she can make me go grovel to '_Lady Sakura_'; to beg her to come and heal me. Who does she think I am!? No way I'd put myself more in her debt than I already am. Even the threat of having Tobi ordered to heal me won't change that. Konan's forgetting that Tobi's scared to death of me when I'm angry. All I have to do is snap at him enough and he won't come near me."_

_Sakura was surprised at what Deidara was saying…it sounded just like something Deidara would say, and the dream seemed so clear, but how could this be real? It __had__ to be a dream. She hadn't told anyone that she hadn't wanted him to be killed…well, other than him and Itachi, so how…? _

_Could it have been that one of them had told Yuri? If so, it would have had to have been Itachi, since Deidara never would have (why did he have to have such a huge pride issue), but…why would Itachi have…? No, this had to be a dream, and even if it wasn't, she had no way of knowing where Deidara was, and he would never ask for her to come, he'd said so himself. She'd have no way of helping him anyways, since no one would be willing to tell her where he was so that she could go and heal him…_

_Suddenly the dream world around her shifted; she was now in front of her room. Her feet began walking as if they knew the way and her body obediently followed. Her feet were taking her down, deeper into the ground, and Sakura instinctively knew she should be memorizing the way, so she did. For some reason it was easier to memorize this dream path than it was to memorize the paths she'd taken in the real world…but that may have been because the dream repeated the path to her however many times she needed to fix it all in her memory._

_The last time she walked the path, she went back into the cell and found Deidara. He was still lying on the ground, though his exact position had changed, but now he was lying in a puddle of his own blood. By the looks of it, his wounds had reopened when he'd tried to move, and now they didn't want to stop bleeding. '_This isn't good._' Sakura thought as worry enveloped her for the jerk who would let his pride be the end of him, '_At this rate he'll bleed to death! I have to--

* * *

Sakura shot up once more in bed. She tried to tell herself it was just a dream, but for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that it had been real. Sakura quickly got up and looked at the clock, it wasn't even five O'clock yet, oh well. Sakura was about to go to her closet to quickly get some close when she noticed that she was still wearing her clothing from the day before. '_Oh, yeah,_'.

Sakura quickly put on the Akatsuki robe while mentally cursing the cold and then put on her forehead protector as she hastened towards her door. She opened the door and stepped out to find only Itachi leaning against the wall, looking at her. "What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura started walking, knowing Itachi would follow her, as she answered, "I had a dream." Itachi 'hn'ed' in question, and Sakura answered evasively, "I want to see if it was real or not." Itachi just 'hn'ed' in answer (boy, that was one convenient, not to mention overused, all around word, that wasn't _even _a word) and followed her. Sakura let her feet lead her deeper into the earth, just as she had in her dream…only this time she wasn't alone.

Finally she came to a halt in front of a door (it looked the same as every other door). Everything had been exactly as it had appeared in her dream…could that mean that this door really lead to Deidara's cell. It was in the same place as the door to the cell in her dream had been (what was it with doors and her dreams? This was the second door to haunt her dreams since she'd come here). A sudden urgency overtook Sakura and she quickly opened the door.

It opened, and she stepped into the room with the cell from her dream. Just as in her dream, Deidara was lying in a pool of his own blood, but now he was unconscious from blood-loss. Sakura couldn't stop herself from gasping quietly in surprise, "So it _was _real after all." and rushing forward until she could get no closer due to the bars of his cell. She found the door to the cell, but it was locked.

Sakura turned to Itachi, her eyes pleading, but her voice silent. She didn't have to speak for him to know what she was saying. Itachi reluctantly pulled out a key from his Akatsuki robe and unlocked the entrance to the cell. Sakura thanked him quickly with a kiss on the cheek, then rushed into the cell to heal the stubborn bomb expert who would rather die than ask for help. As she healed him, she murmured quietly, halfway to him, halfway to herself, "And you call me an idiot."

* * *

The man who had informed Itachi about what Zetsu had said walked down the hall. His gait was steady and assured, like that of someone who knew who they were and what their destination was. After a few more minutes of walking, he glanced back over his shoulder once more, even though he had long been out of sight of the door from the day before, and sighed before looking forward again.

'_Hmm…I wonder…who was that girl that Uchiha was with? She had pink hair…_' the man suddenly stopped, an idea forming, '_Hmm…maybe…I wonder…_' The man continued walking as before, as if he hadn't ever paused, but now there was a smile on his face, '_I wonder if she's…_'

* * *

There, as I said, long live the cliffhangers! I actually went back and added in two dreams, think of that as payment for not updating last Saturday. I'm updating this on Friday because Saturday I have to take the ACT.

Just a warning: I've decided that until School's over, I'll only be updating once every other week. I'm sorry, but I've got some really hard, homework-overloaded, classes right now, so I'm not getting much time to type or do anything else other than homework...and I'm not joking about that. I've been working on homework from the time school gets out to the time I go to bed. I hate having no free time! TT0TT

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, as are people going to my forum; also, flames shall be welco…oh, who am I kidding, it won't be pleasant for flamers to come and visit. Now let's move on to the _pretty list _why don't we!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon (remember, if I'm confusing you, I've done my job well!), Theblackroseofkonoha, 10tealeaf, sakura-angel113, Spirit Seer, xMissxPepperx, animal.cracker.assassinator, krazykoreangurl, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Cute-Killer-Gurl, ForgiveButNeverForget, Fallen to Earth, cherryredblossom, rinnyzito, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, LadySakuraForest, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, EmoAniChan, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio, SnowSkadi (what does OTP stand for?), Hao'sAnjul, aznkitty180, Jay95, akatsuki's hikari, Animeprincess514 (I try), xokatherine229, Crazedchocolatefan, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, hevava, dark Alley, comehoney, Raina Darlig, Marika-Uchiha (it's fine, but Saku's already taken), Sydney B., SpeedDemon315, priscalthum, Meerly an observer (I know, I'm trying to speed things back up. I know where I need to go, I'm just having a hard time getting there), The Dark Necromancer, sasusakuluvers4ever, & moonbeam28 for reviewing!


	35. Shimaguchi

Disclaimer: -tick tock tick tock- how long do I have to wait for you to understand the answer is 'no'? -tick tock tick tock-

**Chapter 35: Shimaguchi**

The same man who had delivered Zetsu's message walked leisurely as well as confidently down the hall, yet no one he passed even seemed to see him. Hiraku was still smiling as he turned down a hall that led to one, single, door. There was no one else anywhere in the vicinity other than the one who he knew would be beyond that door.

Hiraku unhurriedly walked up to the door and opened it, but did not step inside; instead he just looked at the woman who sat in there. Her long green hair that was tied up in two ponytails, one on each side of her head, was blowing around in a strong wind that only existed inside the room. Her violet eyes with their yellow pupils stared unseeingly ahead of her; she appeared to be unaware of his presence. Tied around her waist was a forehead protector with a line cut through it's symbol…a Leaf symbol.

Hiraku continued to grin as he thought about how similar they appeared, even though they were _only _fraternal twins…_and _different genders. "Hey, Michi, you won't believe it, but I think I saw Li's--" Hiraku was cut off when the woman from inside the room, Michi, spoke in a bare whisper, as if she had barely any voice.

"Brother…I know you are near. I have something I must speak with you about. Come…hurry."

Hiraku lightly hit his head as he exclaimed, "Doi! I forgot again! You can't hear or see me from in there…that means I got to go in…but…" Hiraku sighed as his shoulders slumped, "…I hate being in there! Oh well, 'aint got no choice." With that, Hiraku stepped into the room and instantly the same 'wind' that was affecting his sister came to surround him as well. Hiraku sat down with his eyes closed, but when he opened them, he didn't see the room; instead he saw what Michi was seeing.

* * *

Michi's astral form turned quickly in this indescribable dimension to look at her brother, Hiraku waved casually. "Yo sis, as I was saying--"

Michi glared at Hiraku as she interrupted, "Tell me your tale some other time, we've got a problem: Someone, _two _someones, got through the barrier Konan had asked us to make yesterday."

Hiraku's jaw dropped, "What, impossible! It should have only deactivated for the people with permission to enter, and that's only the usual five: Master, Leader, Konan and ourselves. Who was it and how did they deactivate the bar--"

"No."

"No _what_, sis?"

"She didn't deactivate it…she just went through it as if she wasn't being affected by it, but how can that be…? Here, I'll show you what happened." As she spoke, a TV screen materialized, floating in the abstract air. On it were two people walking towards the barrier that should have turned them away. As they neared the barrier, the girl continued walking without a hint of hesitation, but the person behind her didn't. For a moment, he paused, as if thinking that he had no reason to go any farther…that _was _what the barrier was supposed to do after all…but then his eyes turned red and he easily caught up with his companion.

His sister was speaking again, "I can understand that the Uchiha got through because he was close enough for his Sharingan to see through the effects of our barrier, but not the girl…she didn't even hesitate! How could she not be affected--"

Hiraku cut his sister off with a laugh, then said as if in way of explanation, "Rewind and zoom in on her as she goes through the barrier…good, now I want you to take a good look at her…"

Michi looked at the enlarged picture of the pink haired girl, then said as if it was blatantly obvious that her brother had made a mistake, "Idiot, you were thinking she was a Hoshi, weren't you? Even if she has pink hair, she's got green eyes, not blue. Pay more attention to details before you--"

"Tisk, tisk!" said Hiraku playfully as he wagged his astral body's finger at his sister, "It's you who should pay more attention! If you hadn't interrupted me earlier you may have been able to figure it out. But woe is me, my sister doesn't--ow…Ow! Ok, I get it--OW! _Stop hitting me_! I'll get to the point!"

Hiraku rubbed his throbbing head as he continued, "I was saying that you wouldn't believe it, but…that I _thought _that a girl I saw yesterday, that very girl up on the screen now, was…" Hiraku paused, shook his head no, then said, "But now I _know_, no doubt about it…that girl is Li's kid, little Sakura. You never did see her, you only heard about her from Li.

"But I was with him on our last day in Leaf, when he asked his half-sister to take care of her for him…so I saw her, and you know what, I was shocked. I'd expected her to have blue eyes, just like both her parents…but it seems she'd instead inherited her grandmother's green eyes…the Haruno eyes." He paused a moment, then said semi-seriously, "Now that you've listened to me and know that interesting bit of info, you should be able to see what I'd been trying to point out!"

Michi looked back at the screen again for a few moments, then turned back to look at her brother, her eyes showing surprise, "She looks half asleep…It's almost like…"

Hiraku smirked as he finished what his sister had been trying to say, "Like she's envisioning a dream as she walks…so much so that she isn't even seeing the real world around her…it's almost like she's sleepwalking, only she's awake.

"The only kind of people who have even the remotest possibility of getting past our barriers are people like Uchiha, whose Kekkei Genkai help them to see through…bypass…the effects of _our _Kekkei Genkai…though even _that _can only happen if the person with the Kekkei Genkai is physically close enough to our barrier. Otherwise, practically the only other way to pass would be to sleepwalk…because then you are completely unaware of _everything_."

Michi's eyebrows furrowed, "But yet she's awake…and her eyes haven't turned blue yet so she can't be using her Hoshi Kekkei Genkai, so how…is she merely remembering a dream? Normally I wouldn't think that would be enough, but…with her…since she's…it might…"

Hiraku nodded, "That's what I was thinking…she's no ordinary girl, after all. What with being their child and…SHOOT! I just thought of something!" Hiraku quickly grabbed his sister by her shoulders, his voice suddenly worried, "_Why _was she going past the barrier?! Quick, what's happening now?!"

Michi brushed her brother's hands from her shoulders as she turned towards the screen. It's up close picture of Sakura faded and a new picture took its place. Sakura was kneeling beside Deidara with her hands poised above his chest, obviously pouring Chakra into his body and healing his wounds…but by the looks of it, she was running out of Chakra, and fast.

Deidara's eyes opened, and Sakura tiredly turned to look at him, relief showing on her face. Deidara blinked once in confusion, then he said something (they didn't have stereo in this dimension) as his hand shot out and slapped Sakura's hands away from him. Hiraku's eyes narrowed in anger as he quickly pulled out of his Kekkei Genkai. The last thing he saw as he left their Kekkei Genkai's astral existence was Deidara shouting at Sakura who looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion.

* * *

Hiraku tore down the hallway angrily; luckily it was nearby. As he turned a corner at high speed, however, he almost ran into someone. Yuri caught his arm, though whether it was to stop him from falling or to stop him from running right on past, he didn't know. "What is it, Shimaguchi?"

Hiraku said quickly as Yuri removed her hand from his arm, "Deidara just _hit _Li's daughter." He was instantly off running again, but a moment later Yuri joined him silently. He didn't protest; she had just as much reason as he to want to beat the living daylights out of Deidara (again). As they ran, Yuri told him something that made him even angrier.

* * *

They reached the door without a hitch; Hiraku threw it open and hastened in but stopped just inside the doorway. Itachi was holding a now unconscious Sakura and Deidara appeared to have been kicked into a wall with enough force to leave a number of cracks on the wall (as well as probably a number of broken ribs on Deidara's part), but he was still conscious. Dazed, but conscious. _Good_.

Yuri pushed past Hiraku, "Uchiha, why did you bring Miss Haruno here? How did you even…" she trailed off as she remembered that he wouldn't have known where Deidara was.

There was a long silence, and then Itachi said simply, "She had a dream and decided to see if it was real. I just followed her."

Yuri's eyes began to widen in surprise and something else that he couldn't discern, but she quickly ironed out her emotions and nodded. She turned towards Deidara, preparing to take a step towards him, but Hiraku had already beaten her to him. Hiraku was holding the still dazed Deidara up by the front of his robe in one hand while his other hand was poised to punch. Hiraku said without turning around, "Konan, you and Uchiha should go and see to little Sakura. I'll deal with Goldilocks here."

There came Yuri's telltale pause, then, "Very well, Shimaguchi, but I expect a full report later. Come, Uchiha, let's get Miss Haruno back to her room." He heard her footsteps begin, but at the doorway she paused, then called back to him, "Shimaguchi, make sure not to kill him, Miss Haruno doesn't want him dead." And then she was out the door, soon followed by Itachi. The door closed, and it was just Hiraku and Deidara, who was no longer extremely dazed.

Deidara glared at him as he returned to fully being aware of what was going on around him. Deidara spat, "Get your hands off of me, Yeah. You've got nothing to bother me about, the idiot's fine--"

Hiraku felt himself twitch and he let his fist fly. It hit the wall not a millimeter from Deidra's head. His eyes were blazing as he gasped angrily, "Don't you _ever _address Li's daughter like that _ever again_." He threw Deidara across the room until he hit the bars of the cell, and then continued, "Got that, Goldilocks!"

Deidara was able to get himself to stand up, but if he hadn't been leaning against the bars, he probably would have fallen down again. Hiraku smirked as he started walking slowly towards Deidara, "The little lady doesn't want you dead for some reason, and since she went to all the trouble to heal you I'll try not to beat you up anymore. However, I can't promise you anything if you don't keep your trap closed."

Deidara opened his mouth to say something anyways, but Hiraku backhanded him into the closest wall. "I said don't open your trap, Goldilocks. It's time for you to listen, and listen good." Hiraku strode forward until he was just within arms reach, "I'm not going to kill you, but not just because Li's daughter didn't want me to. If it was merely that, I'd have already killed you for your disrespect of her. The reason I haven't ended your life is because your life isn't mine to end.

"Konan told me how you initiated a battle to the death with little Sakura. You lost, yet you are still alive. That by itself means you owe her your life, but that's not all there is to it. You were on the brink of death just a while ago, and once again she saved your life…so that's twice now that your life has been forfeit to her.

"Your life is in her hands, not mine. Do you understand what that means, Goldilocks?" Hiraku didn't wait for Deidara to answer, "It means that she is your master. The only one whose orders should come before hers are Master's, and I assure you that he would have no qualm with your death right now. It's probably only because of little Sakura that he's decided to let you live."

Hiraku suddenly had his hand lightly wrapped around Deidara's neck as he said the next part ruthlessly, "You owe her your life twice over. That means that if she say's come, you come. If she say's go, you go…and if she says die…" he tightened his grip on Deidra's neck momentarily, "…I'm sure I needn't tell you what you would have to do." He released Deidara, turned around, and went out the door of the cell before closing and locking it.

As he was walking out the door and into the hallway, however, he paused and added, "Oh, and if you dare use impolite terms when referring to her again…" he chuckled evilly before he continued, "well, just don't do it and you won't have to find out. Also, make sure to call your master by her title, 'Lady'. She owns your life due to your own stupidity; whether you…or _her_…like it or not." Then he was gone.

* * *

Once Yuri stepped out of Sakura's room (having kicked Itachi out so that she could change Sakura into her nightclothes and put her back to bed) and had closed the door, Itachi asked in a dangerous tone, "Who was that guy? Last time I just put him off as being someone's subordinate, but back there you did what he said. Why?"

There was a moment of silence before Yuri answered in a quiet voice, "He, as well as his twin sister, _are _subordinates, but not to me, or even Pein. They are our Master's subordinates, but the only reason why they are merely 'subordinates' and not true Akatsuki members, is because what they do requires that they stay in our main base at all times. If you were to rank them, they would both be at mine, and maybe even close to Pein's, level."

Yuri paused, then asked, "Have you ever wondered why we only have you search for people who aren't supposed to be there _only_ in areas past the camouflaged markers? It's because no one should be able to get past those markers unless they have permission, and that, since there is a clearing, even if someone like, say, your brother, got through, he'd be easily spotted. The reason people can't get past those markers is because of the Shimaguchi Twins."

"The twins have a special Kekkei Genkai, Kakumaugan, the shielding eyes. They have the ability to make people ignore something to the point that it seems to be inexistent or unnecessary to pay attention to. Only people like you or Pein…and apparently Sakura…have the ability to get past the 'barrier' they've set without permission. However, that's only the case so long as they keep their 'barrier' at the psychological level, because that point is akin to Genjutsu and thus easier to bypass.

"If they need to, they can make it so that you physically can't pass their barrier, but doing so is much harder. It wouldn't even be possible if not for the special room Hiraku Shimaguchi created to amplify their power and the strength of his sister, Michi Shimaguchi's, Kakumaugan. One or the other is always in that room, maintaining the barrier around this whole building and also whatever other barrier may be needed at the time…though most of the time it's Michi who does that, since her Kakumaugan is stronger than her brothers."

Yuri paused, then added, knowing the real reason Itachi had asked, "You needn't worry, Hiraku would never do anything bad to Miss Haruno. He and his sister were on the same Gennin team as her father. They were, and as far as I know, still are, the best of friends."

Yuri started walking down the hall then, but a moment later stopped and said without turning back around, "I've got somewhere I must go now, but when she awakens, please tell her that she _will _get to see her father…it just might be a while. He, much like Michi, is so busy doing something in a special room made by Hiraku that it's hard for him to find a way to escape away from there for any amount of time…"

Yuri started walking again, but continued to say as she walked, "But she _will _get to see him…I just don't know when yet."

* * *

There, I think that was pretty long. I hope you liked it…I know there wasn't much Itachi/Sakura moments, but…it was necessary for these things to happen, and I doubt that if Sakura had stayed conscious that she would have allowed anyone to hurt Deidara more than he already was.

Here are the meanings of the three new names that come in in this chapter: Michi- path, Hiraku- pioneer, Shimaguchi- island's entry.

There's a link to a new picture (CCR) by Spirit Seer on my profile, so go check it out! Also, I am working on a picture of the Shimaguchi twins. I'll put it up once I've finished it.

Since I've had another person ask, I'll repeat this once again: the epilogue of ACC will not be explained until near the end of this story. But it _will_ be explained.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum are welcome to some cyber cookies, but since flamers would just burn them, they have to stay away. Well, (munch, munch…mm, good cookie) let's get on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: LadySakuraForest, Megan Elyse, CelestialMaidenofSilence, EmoAniChan, sakura-angel113, rinnyzito, S. T. Nickolian, Kiri-No-Miko, Hao'sAnjul, krazykoreangurl (I normaly update on Saturday), LovelyLittleAngel144, black fire blossom, Crazedchocolatefan, animal.cracker.assassinator, xokatherine229 (thank you, but please remember not to use His name in vain), anonymous, Theblackroseofkonoha, Quiet Moon, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, aznkitty180, shikasgirl001, Jay95, akatsuki's hikari, Animeprincess514, Raina Darlig, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, SnowWolfSpirit, SnowSkadi (thank you), SpeedDemon315 (thanks, I try to make them poetic),Cster, Black Fire Blossom (your answer is above), & naticariza, for reviewing!


	36. How Things Change

Disclaimer: I hate making people wait…I hope that doesn't make me too much like Sasori.

**Chapter 36: How Things Change**

The weeks had gone by; many things had happened and changed…and yet many things had stayed the same. Sakura was still the 'guest' of the Akatsuki, and was never allowed anywhere without someone to 'guard' her. She had learned her way around pretty well thanks to all the 'exploring' she did with her cousins as well as some helpful dreams…but there was still one place that eluded her, the door that haunted her dreams.

She had tried to memorize the path so many times, and at times she thought she had had it…but when she tried it out, she'd always ended up somewhere else. Of course she had only tried three times, but that was because she had to be careful who was her 'guard(s)' when she went looking for the door. Her instincts told her that Itachi and Konan wouldn't want her to find the door, and she had been able to figure out that Tobi was under orders to not take her near it (he wasn't a very good liar). That left her with only two people.

One was her new Akatsuki friend, Ayaka, who often helped her find out things that the Akatsuki weren't telling her (such as that her dream about Konoha being so beat up was sadly true and that they hadn't even sent one squad out to search for her, not because they didn't care for her, but because they were too low on ninja). She did so not only because they were friends, but also as payment for trying to help unravel her past. Sakura had found that after she had saved Deidara's life down in that dungeon…or maybe it had really started when she'd fought against Deidara in the first place…but around that time, the restrictions on her Hoshi Kekkei Genkai had lessened greatly, though not completely.

Deidara was her other choice for door hunting with. It had really surprised her when she had seen him for the first time after she'd found him in the cell and healed him. The first thing that shocked her was that he was hurt again, but that was nothing compared to the shock she got when he called her _Lady _Sakura. He had been beet red, and his voice had held some anger and sarcasm, but at the same time…well, she wouldn't say he was completely sincere about it, but he did seem to mean it…something about owing her his life…he had mumbled, so she hadn't quite caught it all.

Sakura was still teaching her students about healing, and in return, her cousins taught her about the Hoshi culture, Kekkei Genkai, and the Ancient language (though it was mostly Noya doing the language teaching, since the twins had only the basics of the language down themselves). Many nights she would keep studying in the library long after her cousins had gone to bed, unable to escape the feeling that there was something she had to find, something lost, or maybe just overlooked. It was on a night like that that Sakura had come up with a test for Tobi to see if her theory about his healing ability was correct.

The next day she had asked Deidara to help her with her experiment, and when he found out his part to play, he happily agreed…Tobi on the other hand was scared to agree to the experiment until Sakura promised to block his nerve endings so that he wouldn't feel anything. She was planning on having Deidara break Tobi's arm while she was concentrating on it with her Chakra, so that she could see what happened…why Tobi's body healed so quickly without him even knowing how it happened. It took three trials for Sakura to be sure.

* * *

_Sakura was already concentrating on the bone even before it began to break. Then it had snapped, thanks to Deidara, and Sakura focused on what Tobi's body did. The first time they had tried this, it had happened too quickly for her to catch what happened, and the second time she hadn't been completely sure that she'd really seen what she'd thought she'd seen, it'd happened so fast…but third time's the charm. _

_Sakura watched, amazed, as the bone almost instantly began to pull itself back together. Within a matter of moments it was completely healed, showing no sign of having been broken or having been healed. Sakura pulled her Chakra out of Tobi and turned her attention to the thoughts that were flying around her head a mile a minute. She was brought out of her thoughts when Deidara asked her if she needed him to break Tobi's arm again (he seemed to find it fun)._

"_No," She heard Tobi sigh in relief, "that was enough…I think I've figured it out." Sakura paused a moment more and arranged her jumbled thoughts before she continued, "When I had tested Tobi's healing abilities, I had noticed that he was having a hard time. That it had almost been like he was fighting, or was in disagreement with himself, over how the healing should be done. Now I know why…my hypothesis was correct."_

_Ayaka, who had been watching silently the whole time from a nearby boulder, spoke for the first time since she'd arrived, "Will you now tell us what that hypothesis was, Lady Haruno?"_

_Sakura sighed and said more to herself than to Ayaka, "I wish you wouldn't call me that." After a moment's pause, she continued, speaking to everyone this time, "Anyways, first let me tell you what's been happening with Tobi. Normally when people are healed with Chakra, what happens is that the Chakra speeds up that person's healing process. All it does is make what would normally take months to heal instead take only hours to heal. It's not a miracle; the Chakra merely acts as a catalyst in the healing process. But that's not what happens when Tobi's hurt."_

_Sakura paused a moment to choose her words, "What I just saw happen in Tobi was completely different. His Chakra didn't speed up the healing process at all. Instead it…_undid_…the damage. He didn't __fix __what was broken; he made it so that it was __never __broken. I don't know how better to explain it than that. But that's why he's been having such a hard time trying to heal others. He's been fighting between the urge to heal and the urge to undo. He-"_

_Deidara interrupted her, "We get it Lady Sakura…but what's the big deal, Yeah? Just tell us your theory already, Yeah." In the silence that followed, Sakura felt all threes' eyes staring at her intently, waiting for her answer._

"_Very well, I believe, no I'm sure, that the reason's in his blood." Sakura noticed everyone's confusion, so she explained, "I was reading a book I'd accidentally stumbled upon in the library, and it mentioned a clan that was believed to have been eradicated about twenty to thirty years ago. Though the book was very vague, I believed that it eluded to this clan having a Kekkei Genkai that allowed them to heal wounds that, for any other medic, would be a lost cause…and that their own wounds would heal of their own accord without the person doing anything. Obviously I thought of Tobi."_

* * *

Tobi and Ayaka had both been very happy about what Sakura had deduced, but Deidara didn't really care. He'd said it didn't matter and that Tobi was probably just too stupid to heal correctly. But Tobi had begun to show him otherwise. After they'd figured out what Tobi's 'problem' was, Sakura had begun to work around it and help Tobi heal properly. He was really progressing quickly now, as was Noya, who seemed to be a natural at healing. But they both still had a long way to go. The twins had an even farther way to go, seeing as they both still struggled with the basics, but they _were _learning.

On another of their trips outside, Junko had appeared again. When the twins told her that they had done the first ceremony to make Sakura the Pillar, Junko just laughed. She then explained that it was unnecessary since Sakura was the only Time Walker currently alive. It was only necessary when you had to choose between multiple Time Walkers. But when the twins asked about the second ceremony, Junko's attitude did a one-eighty.

* * *

"_Don't you dare even think about it!" Junko yelled at the twins who cowered in fear, "I didn't give my life for my daughter so that she could have that curse put upon her!" Her hand rose to strike them, and Sakura's hand shot out, grabbing Junko's wrist._

_Sakura growled angrily, "What do you think you're doing? They merely asked a question! It's nothing to flip out about!" Junko opened her mouth, but Sakura cut her off, "I don't care if the answer was something bad. It's not like we would have known. Why would we have asked something that we already knew. Instead of yelling at them and trying to hit them you should have explained why to them!" It had taken all her strength not to add 'what kind of mother are you?'…she didn't want to know the answer._

_Junko simmered down, sighed, then said, "I'm sorry, my little Sakura, I just couldn't bear the thought of…" She trailed off, hugging Sakura as if it had been Sakura she'd threatened rather than the twins. Sakura cleared her throat and Junko released her._

_Junko leaned back as she began, "I guess I should explain. The second 'ceremony' is more of a curse. It's what binds the Pillar to the clan alone, taking away their freedom. It makes them a prisoner to their own clan…I won't allow another Hoshi to have to go through that. That's why I sent you with your father to Konoha. I knew if you stayed with the Hoshi's, the elders would decide to curse you the moment you returned from your awakening. You would have only been eight!"_

_Hanako's small voice asked fearfully, "But aren't the ceremonies required for Time Walkers to become the Pillar? What will happen if you suddenly stop doing what's always been done?"_

_Junko glared at Hanako, but answered anyways, "As I said, the first ceremony is only needed when there is more than one Time Walker who could become the Pillar. As far as I know, it's always been so. But the curse hasn't always existed. It was created sometime in the past, back around the time when the World Walker came and went from the Hoshi clan for the second time. _

"_This information had been left out of the stories from back then, but I Saw it…that's how I found out. The elders at that time wanted the current Pillar to remain the Pillar, but the Pillar wanted to step down and pass on the power and responsibility to someone else so that they could journey elsewhere. So the elders created the curse, to force their Pillar to remain. I never did, however, find out if that Pillar was the first to have the curse put on them, or if they escaped and their heir became the first, but that was the birth of the curse…and I plan for this to be the death of the curse. It is to end with me."_

It hadn't been too much longer before Junko released Noya. It was only later that Sakura had remembered that she'd forgotten to ask Junko about her father. However, she did think to ask her cousins later that same day about this World Walker she'd heard them talk about. It had been Noya who'd answered.

"_The World Walker could be considered a fifth type of Walker, but there's only ever been one in all our history, and it was so long ago that a lot of information about him has been…diluted…or forgotten. You see, back when the World Walker was around, stories were still passed along verbally, and weren't written down, so many details no longer exist._

"_For instance, we don't know when exactly the World Walker was around, only that it was a very long time ago…back when the Ancient language wasn't ancient. We don't even know whether the World Walker was a guy or girl let alone what his (well, we have to call him something, it'd be rude to call him 'it') name was; but that may have more to do with the fact that the World Walker, at least according to the stories, was young and probably from another time. _

"_Probably he was from some time after the Ancient language became our second language rather than our first, but also far enough back that it was still taught to very young children, since he had a good grasp of the language, even for being so young. And before you ask, no, we don't know how old he was. I've heard anywhere from seven to thirteen. But anyways, It's said that he wrote down his name, but in such a way that it could be read many different ways…that's a big problem with the Ancient language, everything can be read multiple ways…so even back then they weren't ever completely sure what his name was._

"_There are many stories concerning the World Walker, and many different variations of those stories. However, there are some things that all stories agree on. One was that the World Walker was a child when he first appeared. How he first appeared is debated. Most people believe that he was also a Time Walker, and had appeared by Walking through time, but some believe he had always been in that time, but had been living outside the village until he awoke as the World Walker. No one can be sure though._

"_Second is that he had the strongest Kekkei Genkai ever seen among the Hoshi. There aren't any exact details, but it's said that the World Walker, as his name suggests, was able to Walk between worlds as well as time. But once again people disagree as to what the definition of 'world' was meant to be when he said he was a World Walker."_

_Noya paused, then apologized, "I'm sorry, but it's hard to give a straight answer as to who the World Walker was since there are no written histories from back them…at least, not that I know of."_

* * *

That was only one of the many things about the Hoshi culture that Sakura learned, but it interested her greatly, though she couldn't give a reason why. Often she found herself asking her cousins to tell her stories of the World Walker during breaks in their medic training in the library. It was funny how many contradictions two versions of the same story could have.

Once she had finished teaching her students (and them teaching her), she would send her cousins to bed, and then she and Tobi would often work on his Kekkei Genkai's way of healing or he would go somewhere else (he never did tell her where) and she would research one thing or another late into the night. That was the most common outline of her days lately. There really hadn't been much variation, that is, until today.

* * *

_Sakura had just sent her cousins to bed and was about to open a large, obviously old book she'd just found, when Tobi approached her almost shyly. Sakura held onto the book and raised an eyebrow. Tobi looked around, anywhere but at Sakura, as he asked timidly, almost as if he were afraid she'd get angry at him or something, "L-Lady Sakura…do you think…could you…is Tobi…" He paused, took a breath, then finished quickly while staring at his feet, "Can Tobi learn how to heal infections?"_

_Sakura set the book down on a nearby table, put a hand on his shoulder, and answered kindly, "You're not ready yet. Please be patient. These things take time." Tobi nodded solemnly, obviously downtrodden, but didn't say anything. Sakura let go of his shoulder and went to pick back up the book, making sure her back was to him to make him more comfortable as she asked, "Is there any particular reason why you wanted to learn how to do that?"_

_Tobi spoke dejectedly, "Yes, Tobi-" Suddenly Tobi yelped, "Ahhh, Tobi forgot agaaaaain!" Sakura swirled around just in time to see Tobi slam the library door open and run out, past Deidara (Itachi had been gone for a few days now). Sakura didn't stop to think, she ran past a bewildered Deidara and after Tobi. The first thing she noticed was that Tobi ran up the stairway that they had never taken again after the first day she'd gone to the library with Tobi._

_Tobi led Sakura on a wild goose chase, running apparently in no particular fashion through the maze of halls. Suddenly he turned a corner sharply, leaving Sakura's sight. Sakura turned the corner just as she thought she heard the sound of a door closing. When she looked down the door-filled hallway, she didn't see Tobi. In that moment Sakura felt an odd sense of assurance that she had finally found the right corridor, the one that the door that haunted her dreams should be in._

_Her eyes sought out and found the door she was sure was the right door…but then her eyes slid away from the door and for some reason she now felt that that wasn't the right door. Sakura looked to another door, an odd sensation coursing through her. She felt that none of these were the right doors…she had no reason to be here…but what about Tobi? Where was he? Shouldn't she find him?…no, she wouldn't find anything here…she should go…_

_Sakura turned around as she heard Deidara running down the hallways she'd just turned off of, calling for her. He slowed to a walk just before he entered her line of sight, breathing hard from his run. Sakura waved and called his name as he looked down the hallway she was in, but it was as if he didn't hear or see her. He continued walking, but now he was complaining to himself about how angry Yuri would be with him for having lost her._

_Sakura looked back at the door she thought was the right one, but she felt a great sense of unimportance as she looked at it. She turned back around and began walking back the way she'd come, planning to catch up to Deidara. Right before she turned out of her hallway, however, an odd buzz of thoughts in the back of her head made her look back once more, giving her the feeling that she shouldn't be leaving yet. But as she looked back, the doors all blended together, indistinguishable from each other, and the sensation that had made her look back made one last effort, then disappeared._

_Sakura shrugged and ran after Deidara, calling out to him. He jumped, and spun around, yelling, "Where'd you come from, Yeah?"_

_Sakura turned around to point to the hallway she'd just come from, about to tell him he'd walked right past her, but the hallway was gone. There was only a wall where the hallway had been…as Sakura stared at the wall, however, she felt like she should ignore it…it wasn't important…it…_

…_Sakura tore her eyes away from the wall, pushing back the feeling that she shouldn't care about what had just happened. Instead concentrating on the drone in the back of her head that was telling her that she should think on it later…and that she should get out of here before she lost her train of thought…and that it was, indeed, important._

_Without explaining to Deidara, she said, "Please take me to my room…I'm lost." She clenched her hands, and only then remembered that she was still holding onto the book from the library. Sakura shook her head as she followed Deidara…she'd think about it all later._

* * *

Sakura stared up at the ceiling while lying on her bed, pondering what had happened. Sleep tugged at her abnormally overtired body. '_I don't know what all happened back there…I'm sure it was the right door…but…_' Sakura tried to picture the door and the hall she'd been in just an hour ago, but she couldn't bring up the picture in her memory no matter how hard she tried. When that failed, she instead pictured the wall and her conversation, or lack there of, with Deidara.

'_He never saw me…even though I saw him look right at me, he didn't see or hear me until I entered the same hallway as him…and then that hallway disappeared and I didn't care…why? Wait…maybe the hall didn't disappear…maybe it was the wall that appeared. Is it some kind of Genjutsu or barrier? But how then did I get past it the first time when I was following Tobi, but not after I'd gone back out to Deidara? Did it have something to do with Tobi…maybe that's why Tobi was ordered not to take me that way…maybe his presence can open the path…_'

Sleep began to weigh down Sakura as she thought, '_No wonder I could never find it before…but how am I going to find it again? Tobi won't take me there, that much is obvious…_'

* * *

Well, Sakura finally found the door again, but she lost it just as quickly as she found it. Now, what's behind that door? Why was Tobi allowed to get past the barrier? And…is Sakura ever going to actually see what's behind that door? (I'm evil, aren't I? Once again, it's a rhetorical question.)

This chapter was a small time skip (in case you couldn't tell). I did this so that I could speed things up for those who want me to do so while also giving you important information. I hope you liked it.

Also, I've been so busy lately, I've had no time to write at all. Just a couple of things I've had to work on are a presentation, a 6 pg paper on the death camps, and a 5-10 pg paper on insomnia. I've been trying to find time, but as it it, I've been going to school on SATURDAY in order to work on all these projects I have, so time is hard to find. This means that if I can't write another chapter before my next update date, I won't be able to give you a new chapter, sorry. I'll work hard to try to find time to type, I already know what's going to happen next, I just need to write it.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome as are people going to my forum, but flamers should beware…I have duct tape!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, krazykoreangurl, hevava, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Cute-Killer-Gurl, xokatherine229, Spirit Seer (He just wasn't shown. And yes, they were one of the ones who went with the Akatsuki that day), akatsuki's hikari, Theblackroseofkonoha, Animeprincess514, aznkitty180, sakura-angel113, Hao'sAnjul, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, The Squabbit, .assassinator, Grace Antares Whitlock-Hale, Fallen to Earth, SnowWolfSpirit (read back through the scene where Sakura goes and speaks to the third again), NightWing101, moonbeam28, saphire4, MelodicLilacs, SpeedDemon315, Tsuka Chan, Tsukiyome, Silent Sinner Abella, & sasusakuluvers4ever for reviewing!


	37. Dreams and Worries

Disclaimer: I don't hear you!

**Chapter 37: Dreams and Worries**

Sakura opened her eyes groggily, struggling to wrap her mind around the dreams she'd known she'd had, even though they were kind of fuzzy. One had been odd, almost like a memory, except for the fact that she wouldn't have been alive in that time. In her dream, she'd been looking at the 'latest' (more like last) photo of her father. It was taken on the day he become a Gennin.

_The one she knew was her father stood in the middle of the four people. His short, strawberry blonde hair shone in the sunlight and his shockingly blue eyes stared confidently at the camera. On either side of him stood a green haired person. One boy, one girl, obviously sibling and probably also twins. The girl was glairing at her brother, who had a carefree grin on his face and his hand held up in a peace sign. Behind them stood a golden haired woman with jade eyes and a falcon on her shoulder. _

_In this dream, however, the people in the photo weren't in the photo. It was more like she was in the time when the photo took place. There came a flash, the sound of a shutter, and then the person behind the camera called out "Tsubame, now that the photo's done, you should come with me, the Hokage wanted to speak to us."_

_The woman, Tsubame, nodded and strode forward as she said to her students, "Haruno, Michi, Hiraku, meet me at training field number five tomorrow at seven. Hiraku, if you're even a second late…" Tsubame paused, then gave him a scary smile, "Well, just don't be late…then you won't have to find out." She then walked away with the photographer._

_For a moment, Sakura could have sworn that the dream wavered, making all three look older, but…no, they were still Gennin…the dream went on as before. When the teacher and the photographer were out of sight, the girl, Michi, hit her brother on the head, "You idiot, why were you late? I thought I'd made sure you would be on time. But no! The moment I take my eye off you you're late! You know Tsubame-sensei is a stickler for being on time. Where were you?"_

_The boy, Hiraku, just smiled lazily at his sister, "Just taking a nap. You woke me up too early, so-"_

"_I did NOT wake you up too early! In fact, I didn't wake you up soon enough! You-"_

_Suddenly Sakura's father spoke in a commanding voice, "Quiet you two." Both instantly shut their mouths. Sakura's father turned to Hiraku, his voice more friendly, no longer quite so commanding, "Hiraku, don't be late again. Being on time may one day be a matter of life or death. Michi," He turned his gaze on her, "it's good that you are trying to keep Hiraku on time, but remember that you won't always be there for him. He must learn how to be punctual of his own will. Do you both understand?"_

_Both of them nodded, shamefaced, "Yes, Li."_

_Sakura's father slightly smiled and patted both of them on the shoulder, "Good. Now then, I'm going to go train. If you want, you may join me." He then started walking. A moment later Hiraku and Michi caught up to him._

_Hiraku smiled broadly, his arms crossed casually behind his head, and spoke; However, his voice was anything but casual. "You know we'll follow your lead, Li. Whatever you say, whatever you do, wherever you go…always we'll follow."_

_Michi then gave a gentle smile aimed towards Sakura's father and added, "Yeah, he's right for once. If not for you, we wouldn't be alive, so our lives are yours. We'll follow your orders, no matter what. After all, you are-"_

_Sakura's father laughed lightly and interrupted Michi, "That's enough of that from you two. Remember where we are, and remember…we're __friends__. For now, that should be enough for all of us. Now come, let's train." As they headed into the distance, the dream faded away._

The other dream had been about that door again…she was still pretty sure it was the same door that she had just seen the night before. Sakura rubbed her eyes wearily, then caught sight of the clock for the first time. "Augh, why did I sleep in so late!" Sakura quickly shot out of bed, then had to sit back down as her vision tunneled, she mumbled, "Must of sat up too quickly." Once she felt better, she hurriedly got dressed. Without thinking Sakura picked up the book from the previous night as she headed towards the door.

Once she exited the room she was greeted by Tobi, who looked like he had only just woken up himself. "Good morning Tobi, I see Itachi isn't back yet, is he…"

Tobi shook his head no, not catching the sad tone in Sakura's voice, "Nope! But Tobi's here! What will we do today?"

Sakura gave a small smile, ignoring how heavy her body felt, "Well, let's go to my cousins' room for now." Tobi nodded and they started walking down the hall. Mentally Sakura sighed, Itachi had been gone for a while now…she missed him…

When Sakura entered her cousins' room she was greeted by two bodies throwing themselves on her and their voices asking nonstop questions. As Sakura answered the twins' questions she looked over their head and noticed that Noya was just standing, looking at her. Once she'd assured the twins that she'd just overslept she walked over to Noya and asked him what was wrong.

Noya looked at her a moment, then shrugged and said, "Nothing really…" he paused as he caught sight of the book that Sakura was still holding onto, "What's that? Is it a new textbook?"

It took a moment for Sakura to realize what he was talking about. Sakura sighed and sat down on the bed, looking at the book in her hand as she thought distantly about how Noya had changed the subject, but she was still too tired to bother him about it, so she decided to let it go.

As her mind returned to her book, she said in answer to Noya's question, "No, I just brought it for some reason…I don't even know what it's about, since I haven't even read it yet." Sakura shook her head lightly, as if to shake off her sleepiness, "Anyways, you should read the next chapter of the book I gave you, and you two should practice walking up the walls."

Noya just nodded in answer and went to his book as the twins rushed up the wall. Sakura looked back at her book and noticed that it appeared very old. There was no title on the leather cover of the rather thick book. Sakura opened the cover and found what was probably a title, but Sakura couldn't be sure because it was hand written in a different language.

Sakura carefully opened the book midway through and turned the age weathered pages, just looking at the beautifully written foreign language and alphabet. Sometimes there appeared to be lists of things, and then there were long paragraphs. Sakura was about to close the book, dismissing it as something she could not read, when something caught her eye. Sakura turned back to the page near the front and examined what was written there closely.

Sakura gasped, shock making her light headed. Sakura quickly turned to Noya and found that he was looking at her (probably because he'd heard her gasp). "Noya, look at this. Is this what I think it is?" Noya took the book and looked at where Sakura was pointing, his eyes widening.

Noya returned his gaze to her and said in an awestruck voice, "It says _Sie Ausdehnung Geheren_ …it's written in the ancient language."

* * *

Ayaka walked quietly down the hall towards the Hoshi children's bedroom, her mind abuzz with thought. She had just returned from reporting to Yuri about what she'd just found out on her latest mission. She had infiltrated a secret meeting that was being held by the same group of Grass ninja that their 'informant' had come from, and had found out a great deal of disturbing information.

The Grass ninja talked about what one of their informants in Sound had found out one day while listening into a number of secret conversations between Kabuto and Orochimaru. They briefly mentioned that there had been some sort of prophecy discussed in a previous meeting about a girl (Ayaka knew they were talking about Sakura) that had sparked their interest. That was what had brought about the Grass ninja lurking around the Akatsuki's hideout.

However, as if that wasn't bad enough, this meeting ended up being about a new bit of information that their Sound spy had recently learned. Now, it appeared, Orochimaru had decided that it would be good to capture the girl to use against the Akatsuki. From what their spy had overheard, it sounded as if there was something about the girl other than her being a powerful Hoshi. The spy wasn't completely sure, but he thought that it sounded like the girl had some connection to the Akatsuki that would make 'saving' her (they knew she'd been taken there against her will) from the Akatsuki hurt the Akatsuki.

With that information out on the table, the Grass ninja decided that they wanted her too. If they could thwart Sound, weaken the Akatsuki, and bring such a powerful Hoshi under their command, than they didn't mind sacrificing lives to get their hands on her. They said many other things as well, but this was the biggest thing on Ayaka's mind. And now it was on Yuri's too. Ayaka could only hope that Yuri would take care of things so that Sakura would remain safe with them.

Thinking about Sakura made Ayaka think about what Noya had asked of her. When she had seen the three of them the night before, the twins had hinted heavily that they wanted to see the meteor shower that would be happening this night (how they had known about it she hadn't asked), but they didn't say anything 'directly'…not that it wasn't obvious what they wanted.

It was Noya, however, who had pulled her aside and had asked her to ask Yuri to allow the four of them to go see the shower. He had paused, and then added that he was worried about Sakura not getting enough of Natures Light because she was spending so much time down in the library. Of course after that Ayaka agreed to ask Yuri, and she had that night, and now she was delivering the answer to Sakura's cousins.

Ayaka patted her brother on the head when she'd reached the three Hoshi's room, "I take it Lady Haruno is in there." Tobi nodded his head under her hand, "Good, I want to see something for myself." With that Ayaka knocked, then opened the door to the room. Inside she found everyone on the floor surrounding a book, but only three of the four were actually awake.

* * *

Noya and the twins looked up from trying to translate the old book when they heard the door open. The twins smiled and waved at Ayaka before quickly returning their attention to the book. Noya, however, got up and went over to speak with Ayaka quietly. Noya opened his mouth to speak, but Ayaka beat him to it, "She really _isn't _looking good, is she?"

Noya glanced at Sakura sprawled out on the floor asleep as he answered in a whisper, "She's worse today than she was yesterday and the day before that." Noya paused as he noticed he had been unintentionally clenching his hand. "I'm worried about Lady Sakura. The twins haven't noticed, but she's been pale and not as perky lately, _and _she's been unable to concentrate on the less important things."

Noya paused as he noticed that his hand was clinched again. He slowly opened his hand and looked at it as he continued, "But today she couldn't stay awake even though we were all very interested in that book. She's been pushing herself so hard for some reason…I think she's working too hard and not getting enough sunshine. She's always in that dark library, reading something…she needs to get outside."

Ayaka nodded, "I agree…well, I came to tell you that master Konan has agreed to allow you to see the shower tonight. That's better than nothing, right? But we're lucky that master agreed, considering the circumstances…"

Noya felt his stomach twist into another knot as he asked, "What circumstances?"

Ayaka shook her head, "It's nothing for you to worry about. Master Konan has it under control." Ayaka gave him a reassuring smile and turned to leave, "I've got other things I have to do, but I'll see you later. Tell Lady Sakura hello for me." And then she left. The sound of the door closing felt like a weight thudding onto Noya's already heavy shoulders.

As Noya looked back at Sakura's pale sleeping form his worry increased. '_The fact that she didn't tell me anything proves that something bad is going on other than Sakura's problem. I hate to even think it, but I hope Itachi returns soon. If he's here, Sakura may perk up some…and I know he'd be able to protect her from anything._'

As Noya sat back down by Sakura and the book, he pulled a blanket from the bed and laid it over Sakura. '_Well, at least she came here to 'read' today. I hope that getting a good sleep in the sun will fix her up…if not, then…_'

Noya didn't let himself finish the thought.

* * *

There, I know it's not too long, but It's better than nothing, right? I'll try to update, if possible, before I leave for Japan on June 6th, but I've still got finals to worry about and another cousin's wedding to go to, so I may not get a chance to write anything before I have to leave. I'll be back in the states by June 20th.

If there are any mistakes in this chapter I'm sorry. Wolf-Chan is just as busy as I am with finals, so there has been no editing of this chapter. Also, I put up my drawing of the Shimaguchi twins on my profile.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, as are people going to my forum (which people seem to be forgetting to do!). Flamers, however, are only welcome to try to find the edge of the world…and if they find it, to fall off it. Now, let's thank those on the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, Hao'sAnjul, Crazy Neko Girl (glad to see you're back), xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, .assassinator, Spirit Seer, akatsuki's hikari, xokatherine229, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, Theblackroseofkonoha, aznkitty180, Itachi Chiookami, markim, krazykoreangurl, Animeprincess514, Cster (once I get back from Japan I should, _should_ being the key word, be able to update faster), NightWing101, SpeedDemon315, Marika-Uchiha, Shizune-san, mistressofmischeif (I still didn't get the link. send it with spaces in it, like fan fiction . net), moonbeam28, naticariza, princessXofXtheXmarionettes, so stupid its genius, EmoAniChan, Tsukiyome, & SnowWolfSpirit (...dweep) for reviewing!


	38. Lights

Disclaimer: Sorry you had to wait so long for this **fanfic**, but I'm back now!

**Chapter 38: Lights**

Noya laid in bed, thinking about a lot of things. He distantly heard the light breathing of the twins and Sakura as they took their nap. He should be sleeping too, since they'd be staying up late to see the meteor shower, but instead his thoughts wouldn't quiet down. The main thing on his mind was Sakura.

She had woken up in time for lunch, though she didn't eat much, and then she had forced herself (he was the only one who noticed, though) to stay awake as she joined them in trying to decode the book. They worked like that for a number of hours, but in the end Sakura had fallen asleep again. It was then that Inuka came up with the idea that they should all take a nap so that they wouldn't be tired during the meteor shower.

Noya agreed that it was a good idea, but there was one problem. Sakura was sound asleep on the floor, and they all agreed it would be better for her to keep sleeping, but the sun had moved, and was now beginning to shine on only one of the beds. They had tried to pick her up, to move her to that bed, but they weren't strong enough, so they had had to go out and ask for help.

This was where another problem came in, Tobi wasn't there anymore, he had been replaced by a scowling Deidara. It had taken them a couple minutes to gather the courage to face Deidara's glare and ask him to help them. At first he blatantly refused, but then the twins smirked at each other and whispered something to Deidara that Noya hadn't caught.

Deidara's glare intensified, but he grudgingly entered the room. He'd then picked up Sakura as if she weighed nothing and unceremoniously dumped her on the bed. Sakura never once stirred. For a moment, Deidara had just stood there, looking at Sakura, so Noya had looked at Sakura too, and found that the sunlight made Sakura appear even paler.

Deidara had broken the moment by quickly turning and leaving the room. The door closed with a click, and Noya had known without checking that the door was now locked. He didn't know why Deidara had locked the door, but he decided not to worry about it. Noya pulled the covers over Sakura as he asked the twins what they'd said to Deidara to make him obey.

That same look as before spread across their face, and Inuka had said while trying not to laugh, "We just reminded him of…something." The laughter finally won the battle and Inuka lost her ability to speak coherently.

Hanako picked up in her place, but what she said remained extremely vague. "Let's just say we Saw something he'd rather no one found out about." Hanako's tone told Noya that she wouldn't say anything else, so Noya hadn't pressed her for more knowledge. Instead he had gone to his bed and let the twins go to Hanako's bed (since Sakura was in Inuka's).

Noya closed his eyes tiredly as his mind continued to swirl with thoughts. He was just about asleep when he heard the twins gasp. Noya sat up as both of the twins fell from their bed in a heap and ran for the trash basket, green in the face. Noya swiftly got out of bed and went to their side. Once they felt somewhat better he walked them back to their bed. Once they were sitting down, the twins began to explain shakily what had happened.

"We were Dream Walking", Began Inuka, "and we decided to go visit Lady Sakura's dream…you know, since she'd been wondering before if she was having normal dreams or if she was Dream Walking. Well, we entered her dream…it was awful." Inuka stopped speaking and put her hand to her mouth, so Hanako took over.

"Lady Sakura must be sick, that's the only things that could cause a Walking Dream to be like that."

Noya nodded, he'd already been able to guess that she was sick, but apparently the twins hadn't caught the hints until just now. "What was wrong with the dream? Will you be ok?"

Inuka smiled weakly and said that they'd be fine, then she went quiet and let Hanako continue their whispered explanation, "You could say that her dream was spinning all over the place. The best explanation I can give as to why we got sick was that it's like we are standing still, but we entered Lady Sakura's dream, which was anything but still. It's a horrible experience, I can tell you that right now."

Hanako paused and wrung her hands, "Lady Sakura's probably not effected like we are because she is also spinning crazily, so to speak, so though it must be awkward for her, it's not sickening." Hanako paused and looked at Sakura, "I wonder if we should really be taking Lady Sakura outside when she's sick. And she is sick, I'm sure of it. There's no other reason for her dream to be that way…"

Both Inuka and Hanako shivered as they remembered the dream. Inuka whispered fearfully to herself, "The eyes…"

Hanako's head quickly turned towards her sister, "What eyes? The only thing I caught a glimpse of was a door."

Inuka frowned, "We must have been looking different ways. All I saw were these eyes floating in the darkness. I'm not sure how many there really were, because I felt as if the eyes were being reflected off of mirrors, but I know that there were at least three different eyes. One of them was Lady Sakura's normal green eyes, one of them was what her eyes look like when she's using her Eyes, and I think the last one was ringed with different colors. There may have been other ones, though, I'm not sure."

Hanako nodded, then told what she'd Seen, "I saw a door, just like any other door here, but there was something abnormal about it as well…it glowed in my sight. That must mean that the door had some sort of Jutsu placed on it…" Hanako shook her head, then turned to Noya and asked, "What do you think Noya? She's obviously Dream Walking even though she's sick…I don't want her to get worse! What should we do?"

Noya didn't answer right away. Instead he turned to look at Sakura's sleeping form. She was still very pale, and now he was starting to think that maybe he was seeing a flush on her face…was that a good thing or a bad thing? He didn't know, but… "We should still take her outside, is what I think. It may be that all she really needs is a fresh dose of Natures Light to make her feel better." '_At least, I hoped so_.'

* * *

Sakura awoke to the twins shaking her shoulders gently and whispering that it was time to get up. She sat up, ignoring her throbbing head, and looked out the window. "What…why'd you wait 'til nighttime to wake me up?" Sakura covered her mouth as she yawned, then rubbed her sleepy eyes as she listened to Noya explain.

"We're going to go outside and watch the meteor shower tonight."

Sakura lowered her hand back to her lap and asked confusedly, "What meteor shower?"

Inuka's gasp interrupted Noya, "What! You mean you can't feel it?" Sakura shrugged rather than answer. "But it's so obvious, how can you _not_ feel it!" She really couldn't feel much of anything beyond her throbbing headache…and maybe a slightly soar throat…and she was reluctant do anything that could worsen her headache, like talking.

An awkward silence was narrowly averted thanks to Hanako, who spoke up at the last second, "She probably does feel it, but just doesn't know what it is she's feeling." Inuka opened her mouth to say something, but for some reason (Sakura couldn't bring her mind to try to figure it out, thinking hurt too much) Hanako elbowed her sister and shook her head no.

A knock on the door stopped things from getting even more confusing than they already were for her. Sakura stood up, pausing as the world spun for a moment (she was too preoccupied with all her other discomforts to wonder why), and then took a step towards the door. But she hadn't even taken a second step when the door was opened from the outside and Yuri walked in. For some reason, just for a moment, Sakura thought Yuri was scowling.

Sakura straightened and smiled at Yuri, ignoring the fact that her head was pounding, or more like pretending that it wasn't. "Good evening Yuri."

Yuri looked at her for a moment, then gave her an emotionless smile for only a moment before her face was expressionless again. "Good evening…are you ready to go?"

Sakura forced a smile on her face and answered cheerfully, "I believe so!"

Yuri nodded, "Good, let's go." Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, and all Sakura and her cousins could do was follow. As they walked, Sakura distantly noticed that Deidara, Tobi, Ayaka, and a green haired man were also with them, but she couldn't even bring herself to be curious as to the new person's identity or why their group was so big. It was taking all her concentration not to show that she wasn't feeling a hundred percent.

Sakura only listened to her cousins with one ear as her thoughts wandered. '_I wonder why I've got such a bad headache? Oh well, it will go away on its' own eventually, no need to waste Chakra on it…besides, if my Chakra is completely cut off when I go outside and a wound from one of my training matches reapers, I'll need it…I wonder when Itachi will get back-_'

"-n't you think so too, Lady Sakura?"

"Hn-what?" Sakura looked at Inuka, "Sorry, what'd you say? I was…lost in thought."

Inuka smiled up at her brightly as they continued to walk in the direction of the door that would lead outside, "I _said_: I think the World Walker was actually a man in his thirties from around the thirteenth Pillar's time. Don't you think so too?"

Sakura shrugged, and said, trying to move herself out of the conversation, "You'd know more than me…" Speaking made her head hurt worse than it already did.

Sakura feared that the diversion wasn't going to work when Inuka began to argue, but then Noya came to her rescue, "Inuka. Lady Sakura doesn't even know half the stories about the World Walker yet. Besides that, she also wouldn't know anything about the different Pillars, so how can you expect her to have come to a conclusion like that?"

Inuka scratched her head sheepishly, "Oh, yeah…forgot about that. Well, then, what do you think, Noya?"

Noya sighed, "If I had to give a guess, I'd say he was a teenage boy from around the eighteenth Pillar's time. And since we're already on the subject, what do you think, Hanako?"

Hanako didn't answer right away; Sakura's attention was just beginning to slip back to the missing Itachi when she finally spoke, "I think…that the World Walker was actually a young girl who had been raised outside the village…during the time of the first missing Pillar…and…"

Sakura stopped listening as they passed through the door and she felt that harsh grasp on her Chakra squeezing. It hurt, but ever since her fight with Deidara the grasp hadn't been as harsh. Only a couple wounds reappeared, and they were quickly bandaged so that they could continue on their way.

As they were walking, Sakura began to feel uncomfortably hot, even though she knew it was cold out. It was so cold that her cousins' were walking all bunched together… '_hm…there's an idea_' Sakura took off her Akatsuki robe and wrapped it around all three of them, ignoring the fact that she was now beginning to feel a little cool. When they tried to argue, she just shook her head and dropped farther back to walk between Ayaka and Tobi in silence.

They kept walking until they reached the top of a hill. There they laid a blanket on the ground and Sakura, her cousins, and Tobi sat down on it while Yuri, Deidara, Ayaka, and the green haired man stood at each of the four corners. Sakura laid back and looked at the mostly clear, starry sky above.

There was only one cloud that was currently hiding the moon. Distantly Sakura heard one of the twins (their voices sounded exactly the same) say, "We've still got about an hour before it begins…even though there's not much wind, that last cloud should be gone by then, giving us a clear view." The others spoke their agreement. Sakura smiled…maybe if she could get another hour of sleep, the stupid headache would go away. Sakura shivered once before sleep began to overtake her…why was she both cold and hot at the same time?

* * *

A hand picked up the transparent sphere roughly and two eyes glared into it, expecting once again for nothing to happen. Those glaring eyes were finally proven wrong, and it wasn't a disappointment. In the sphere, visible only to those two eyes, and not the other eyes in the room, a picture had formed. There were four pink haired people in the picture, but only one of them mattered to the watching eyes. A small smirk spread across the watcher's face…'_I knew she'd come out tonight…out of the blind spot where they've been keeping her…_'

* * *

AN: This was going to be the end, but then I decided that since I'd been gone for so long, I'd give you an extra long chapter to make up for it. Oh...and can you figure out who the eyes belong to?

* * *

Sakura woke up on her own for once, but didn't open her eyes. Around her she could hear her cousins (and now Tobi too) chatting about the World Walker and the quickly approaching meteor shower. Sakura felt a tiny bit better, but her head still was throbbing, her throat was itching for some reason, she could feel her gut twisting and a tugging in her mind of…anticipation? '_Was this what Inuka had meant by being able to feel the meteor shower?_' And she also felt…

Sakura shot up quickly and opened her eyes, looking around despite the negative side effects of sitting up so suddenly. '_What's that feeling? Where's it coming from? W-_' Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by Yuri in her emotionless voice that she used whenever anyone else was around.

"What's wrong, Miss Haruno?"

Sakura continued to search the area with her eyes as she answered, "I'm not quite sure…it's just…a feeling…" for some reason, Sakura felt as if she should look up, so she turned her eyes to the sky as she continued, "…as if I'm being watched…" Yuri didn't say anything, so Sakura figured she must be hallucinating, so she decided to add as she tried to appear like she was relaxing "It must just be my imagination…" She didn't know if she'd fooled Yuri though, because she never took her eyes off of the sky, where they had been drawn.

Sakura was just about to lay back down when the first meteor began to fall. Sakura couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the shooting star or the twins' arguing about whether or not the World Walker could be on one of them. Mentally Sakura laughed, the World Walker seemed to be something like a superhero to them, but yet they didn't really know anything about the World Walker. '_I wonder what the truth is._'

One of the streaks of light broke off from the main group and veered off to the right more. Sakura followed it with her eyes, and in doing so, she saw the moon finally completely escape it's cloudy curtain. With both the stars and the moon in her eyes, Sakura felt a pulsation…or had her heart skipped a beat…and an odd, but familiar sensation…Suddenly the world around Sakura was moving in a blur…or was she the one who was moving? She didn't know. The only thing she knew was that the sensation was similar to when she used her Eyes…

Sakura wasn't sure if she screamed out loud or not when the bone crushing grip of that awful Jutsu suddenly struck her. It was as if her body was on fire, her blood was boiling, knives were cutting her from every angle. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, both due to the pain and to block out the blurred, dizzying sight of out of control movement. Abruptly the movement around her (or was it the other way around) came to a jarring halt and the pain eased a little.

* * *

Sakura fell to her knees (since when had she been standing?), breathless, and slowly opened her eyes. All she saw was darkness…no, were those lights in the distance? Were they coming closer? Yes, and quickly. Sakura watched confusedly as two lights, one orangeish and the other silverish, broke off from the many other tiny, distant, lights and sped in her direction.

Sakura winced as the Jutsu tugged on her, trying to drag her away from this place, but she was able to resist it and relatively ignore the pain. Soon she didn't even have to concentrate on ignoring the pain, because the lights had arrived and had captured her attention. They had no specific form to speak of; they were like constantly changing blobs of light. Sakura was mesmerized.

"_What are you doing here, child?_" Sakura gasped in shock, one of the blobs had spoken. The orange blob of light repeated it's question when she didn't answer, "_What are you doing here, child?_" It's voice wasn't like a human's voice …but then again, it was obvious these things weren't human.

Sakura struggled to find her voice, "I-I don't know. I don't even know where _here _is. Who…or what…are you?" Though she couldn't place it, the inhuman voice sounded familiar. Had she heard it somewhere before?

This time it was the silver one that spoke in a somewhat differently inhuman voice, "_This isn't good. You shouldn't be here._" Sakura wasn't sure, but she felt as if the silver light was worried. The light paused and Sakura got the impression that it was examining her, and then squeaked (or that's what she thought that noise was, at least), "_Ah! That's why you're here! That's not good…Do you see that?_" Sakura guessed that last part was directed at the orange light, because it made a sound (of agreement?) and then spoke.

"_Yes, she was interrupted halfway to her destination. A man is trying to haul her back down to her body and away from the Knowing…but in doing so he's gotten her stuck in this dangerous place._" The orange light then circled Sakura, making her uncomfortable. Finally it spoke as it continued to circle her, "_His grasp on you is tight, but you're caught on a twig, so to speak…You can't go back until you've gone forward, but this man doesn't want to let you go…But you can't stay here._"

It returned to the silvers one's side, "_The hold is too strong to break from here. It must be dealt with from it's source. I'll go and deal with it, since you must stay here…keep the child occupied, don't let it's mind or eyes wander._" Without further warning, the orange light was zooming away at an incredible speed. Sakura would have kept watching the orange light disappear, but the silver light spoke abruptly, drawing her attention back to it.

"_Look at me child, and me alone._" Sakura obeyed, though she couldn't say why. "_You mustn't let any part of you wander from me. This is not a safe place for one such as you._"

Sakura cocked her head in question, "Why? Where am I, and what do you mean by 'one such as me'? …And you _still _haven't answered me as to who or what you are."

"_So many questions…_" Sakura could tell that if the light had a head, it would be shaking it now, "_But I suppose it is better that way than for you to be bored. Very well, you may ask me questions and I will answer as best I can for you, though there my be some things I won't answer._" The light took the equivalent of a breath (Sakura wasn't sure if they really breathed or not) before answering her questions.

"_I am what I am. And what I am is whatever the one looking expects me to be. You, however, are looking at the closest thing to reality, since you had no preconception of our appearance, let alone our existence. We are infinitely old as well as young. We exist everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time. We are lifelike, but yet not truly alive. We have countless names and countless forms throughout the countless worlds. You may call us what you like, for it is before your time to know our true names._"

Sakura nodded, trying to absorb everything at once, "Since I have to call you something, how about just Silver?"

"_Whatever you like, it matters not. Any name other than a true name is merely a implement to differentiate between one and another._" It paused as if making sure she understood, then continued, "_Now, on to the question of where you are. There are technical terms and then some not-so-technical terms as to where you are. Technically your body is right where you left it, sitting on the hill, watching the night sky. Technically your mind, spirit, soul, whatever you wish to call it, is…existing…in the airless sky along with me. You were on your way to the Knowing, which for you is accessible through the sky…so to speak_."

It paused again, before continuing, "_In the not-so-technical terms, you are here with us, in the Great Knowing, a place forbidden to one so young as you. Here in the Great Knowing, we have all knowledge within our grasp on anyone's circle. However, what those few who make it here can see is limited to only so many years before and after the current time. We forbade children entry for this reason. Children such as you are too close to their beginning and thus their end to be given free access._"

Sakura nodded, scrambling to store all this information. It made sense that a child wouldn't want to come here and See things, especially if you took into mind that time was nothing but a continuous circle, so that a child, so recently born, would be in danger of seeing past their birth, to their death. '_I doubt anyone could stand seeing their own death like that._', Sakura thought to herself. After another thought, she asked, "So then, the reason I have to stay focused on you is so that I don't See something bad?"

"_Yes. The Great Knowing is a dangerous tool for anyone, and can be a double edged knife…knowledge can cut both ways. That is why we made restrictions on who can…come…here, and how. You will one day be welcomed here with open arms, but for now the double edged blade is pressed against your neck, just waiting for you to turn the wrong way. Do you have another question?_"

Sakura thought for a few moments, then as a thought hit her, she asked, "Who was the guy that you said was responsible for me being here? The one who cast this Jutsu?"

Silver paused, as if deciding what to say…or was it merely searching its memory for an answer…Sakura couldn't be sure, "_I have…restrictions…placed on what I can say about this right now, and I can't tell you who set those restrictions,_" Sakura sighed, Silver had read her mind, "_but I will tell you what I can. The man is the Master of all the Akatsuki, but leaves the majority of the leadership to his half brother, who you would know as Leader._"

"'_Leader's' name is Pein, but it is harder to give you the 'Master's' name. For one, he has multiple names, and for another, that is one of my restrictions. I can give you only one of his names, the name he shares with his half brothers from their father. It is Hachino. Though you haven't ever really met Hachino, you do know him by another name…but I'm afraid that is all I can tell you concerning that topic. What is your next question?_"

* * *

It took a while of thinking for Sakura to come up with her next question. The thing that made her think about it was the tug of the Jutsu on her reminding her of the time she'd tried to Time Walk to find out about Ayaka and Tobi's past. "Um, could you tell me about Tobi and Ayaka's past, Silver?"

Silver paused, then answered, "_What about their past would you like to know? I'll tell you as long as there isn't a restriction on the information._"

Sakura sighed, stupid restrictions, "That's fine. I know that Ayaka, Tobi, and their mother were fleeing from their own people, but I don't know why."

"_It is because of Tobi that Mei had to flee, but in order for you to understand the reason for that, you must first know about Mei's past. She was the sole survivor of an avalanche that destroyed her village when she was ten. She would have died if she hadn't been found by the Genkaku clan and taken in as one of their own. This alone is surprising, because the Genkaku clan normally tries to keep itself separate from others in all things other than business._"

"_She was placed in an arranged marriage to her adoptive brother, whom she didn't like. When she was pregnant with Ayaka, she secretly took a stroll over to a city that was nearby to find someone with medical skills who could answer a question she had. A questions who's answer she didn't want her adoptive family to hear, just in case it was the answer she wanted. Instead she found a fortune teller…a Hoshi far from home who had Seen her and had the answer to that question…and more._"

"What was her question, and what was it's answer?"

"_Her question was if her unborn child would have the Genkaku's Kekkei Genkai, or if it would have hers, which she had kept secret from her adoptive family. The Hoshi informed her that the child within her wouldn't contain her Kekkei Genkai, and that no child born to her by her husband would either._"

"_However, the Hoshi assured her, an opportunity would soon present itself for her to have a child with her Kekkei Genkai. All she had to do was continue her normal, everyday routine and wait for the opportunity to come to her soon after her current child was born. But the Hoshi warned her that when the opportunity reared it's ugly head, she would have a hard choice to make…and that the opportunity in itself wouldn't necessarily be pleasant._"

"_But Mei didn't care, as long as her clan's birthright didn't die with her. And so she waited for the promised opportunity, doing as the Hoshi fortune teller had advised. And then it happened a couple months after Ayaka had been born…she was raped. After raping her, the man had fled, but her husband had gathered a number of their clansmen to hunt him down and kill him…and they succeeded._"

"_It took a while for Mei to recover from that incident, and when she had she momentarily forgot about what the Hoshi had told her. At first, she couldn't understand why her husband, and many others of the clan as well, kept asking her if she thought she had become pregnant. She had just answered that she didn't know yet._"

"_Even after she had remembered what the fortune teller had told her about opportunity, she didn't tell them that she knew she must be pregnant, though she didn't know why. Her intuition just told her not to. And then she found out why one day when she overheard her husband speaking to his cousin. If she became pregnant, he was planning on killing the baby as soon as it was born. After all, it would stain their clan name._"

"_Mei almost panicked then, but somehow she remained calm enough to think up a plan to help her escape the village with her daughter. She escaped, though just barely, but after that, she was often moving from village to village, trying to avoid their spying eyes. There were a number of murder attempts on Tobi throughout the years. Finally in the last such attempt, he was badly injured and both he and Ayaka fell into a river and were swept away._"

"_Mei, however, thought they had died…and lost it. She didn't just kill the people who had chased them down…she went back to the Genkaku village and utterly destroyed it. The wrath of a vengeful mother is a force to be reckoned with…however, this is also what killed her. A day after she got her revenge, she died of the injuries and strain her rampage had caused her. That is the long answer to you short question._"

For a long time, Sakura couldn't find her voice as she mauled over Mei's story. Eventually thought, she turned her mind away from that and thought of her next question, "Could you tell me how Konoha is doing? How are my friends? Is Tsunade better? Has Hinata recovered? Has Neji? And what about Naruto? How-"

"_I can only answer one thing at a time, child. Calm down and let me begin to answer._" Sakura closed her mouth and nodded, distantly noticing that she really wasn't feeling any pain at all right now, not from her headache, her throat, or that guy's Jutsu. She didn't have time to wonder why though, because Silver began to speak again.

"_Tsunade is recovering at a natural pace, but is still unable to use her medical Jutsu. Before you ask, yes, it is being caused by Hachino in order to keep her weak and unable to speed up the village's recovery rate; thus keeping the Leaf village too busy to search for you. I'm sure you can take a gander as to at least one reason why he wouldn't want you found, so I won't waste your time giving all the reasons._"

"_Neji will eventually make a full recovery, but it will still be a while. His injuries were borderline lethal. Physically Hinata is completely healed, however, emotionally she is dealing with a number of gaping wounds. Her father's death came as a horrible shock for her; and Neji's being at death's door…well, it's a good thing he's been recovering. That's one wound that that is mending, at least. And then there's Naruto…the poor girl's worried sick about him. He's-_"

* * *

For a moment there was something like a buzz in Sakura's head that drowned out all sound, and then suddenly Sakura felt like a rubber band that had been stretched to it's limit. Distantly she heard Silver say, "_It's been done. You-_", but then the 'rubber band' was let go, and she was suddenly streaming through the sky again. Off to who knows where. As she was flying, however, she remembered why the lights' voice's sounded familiar. She had heard them in one of her dreams…at the vary end, when the pieces were falling apart…the one about the seesaw. She should have asked about that…oh well, too late now.

And then, without warning, she came to an abrupt stop. For a moment, everything was darkness, just as it had been the first time, but suddenly all her senses were flooded with information. This was the Knowing…a mass of unorganized information just waiting for someone to express itself to…whether it was the information they were looking for or not.

* * *

The eyes watched as the girl's green eyes unknowingly stared at him, searching for what was causing her to feel like she was being watched. Her eyes caught movement, and her eyes turned from his to the meteors, soon following one that strayed from the pack.

Then out of the blue…her eyes turned blue…they were exactly the same as the eyes of the Hoshi he'd gotten this useless crystal from. No…it wasn't completely useless, after all, it had shown her to him twice now, though _only _twice. But there was a blind spot that it couldn't see into, where she was most of the time…and the stupid thing would only show you people you were close to, so he couldn't use it to spy on his enemies.

Well, at least he was the only one here who could use it. That gave him the ability to decide what to tell and what information to withhold. For no apparent reason, open wounds started appearing all over her body, but she remained entranced by the sky. Everyone around her jumped to their feet (if they had been sitting) and rushed to her, but she was oblivious to them all. After a few minutes she opened her mouth; he listened to the words she spoke.

"_The World Walker…the one that can traverse the Circles…the one who began and ended and began again their own Circle. The one who is the clear sky, the ripple pond, the uneven balance. The one of whom you speak has no one name and no one age; no one life, and no one death. The one of whom you speak was cursed and blessed with a never ending life that ended the moment it began…the one that can traverse the Circles…the __only __one that can traverse the Circles…is the one that, in a way, made the Circles…and is the one that, in a way, made themselves…_"

There came a pause for breath, and then she was speaking in that trance-like tone again, "_Time may be nothing but a continuous circle, but it's not the only continuous circle. There are countless Circles that are all connected by a single, if fine, thread, that has no beginning and no end. But this thread is no circle and is no line, instead it is some combination of the two. It is the single connection that every Circle shares, despite all differences. It is nameless, yet has been appointed countless names. It is life, it is death, it is luck, it is misfortune, it is knowledge, it is ignorance, it is existence…and yet it is not. It is the path that the one you speak of traverses as well._"

She took another breath, and for the first time the eyes noticed that the pink haired girl's face was flushed with fever. He thought to himself, '_What's she doing outside, without a coat, in the middle of winter when she's sick? The idiot._' She was impervious to his thoughts, though, as she continued speaking, "_Just as there is only one true law of time, there is only one true law of the Circle. The Circle must always come round, the Circle must always be seamless, the Circle must always continue without a single beginning or end…the Circle must __never__ be broken._"

For a moment, her eyes flickered and met his, or what would be his eyes, if he were physically there. She spoke so quietly that he knew that the others couldn't hear her, and that he could only hear her because of the crystal in his hands, "_The eyes that spy are nothing new, but ending you must soon do, lest other eyes catch you too. Soon comes what you do not wish to see, go away and leave me be. Time will tell what will open the gait, opportunity comes to those who wait. Be careful not to act too soon, lest it be too late for you._"

The eyes stared into the crystal ball. She had spoken to him, and him alone, but how would she have known? He didn't have time to think on the question, because her eyes returned to being green and closed as she began to fall forward in a faint. There was a blur on the scene, and the next moment the unconscious Sakura was being held in the man he hated's arms.

The hands tightened on the crystal as he thought, '_Itachi…I'll kill you!_'

* * *

Hey there! Sorry for such a long wait, but hey, this chapter was twice as long as any I've written before! It was twelve pages long! TWELVE PAGES (almost 13)! That's long! I hope the length made up for my long absence. Sorry about that. Japan was fun, though the cities were really crowded (Don't forget I'm from Nebraska. NE only really has two cities worth being on a map!).

I also made some new friends, one of which I may be helping create a Naruto fanfic. Her name is shadowblade-ookami, and we worked together on the storyline. She's going to be writing the chapters, then sending them to me to be critiqued. So far I don't know what the title of the story will be, but I'll tell you when I find out.

I haven't written the next chapter yet, but this chapter was the length of two, so...just hang in there. I'll update as soon as I can (this summer's much more busy than last summer).

Just so you know, Genkaku can mean illusion, hallucination, rigid, strictness or rigor. And Hachino can mean the rippled pound in a field or the possession of a rippled pond.

Thanks to: Florida Alicat, Quiet Moon, Cster, mistressofmischeif, xokatherine229, .assassinator, krazykoreangurl, Itachi Chiookami, aznkitty180, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, SpeedDemon315, akatsuki's hikari, Animeprincess514, Hao'sAnjul, moonbeam28, Black Fire Blossom, Spirit Seer, Mitsuko Konno (Your English is better than either my German or Japanese), FoxWings (Along Side The Murderer is good), LadySakuraForest, Mikazuki-chan (OC stands for Original Character, but I don't know why the link's wouldn't be working), BeautifulMoonLitRose (don't worry, I've had longer reviews, and I love long reviews anyways), lizzyguurl, xXxCici-chanxXxNaru-KunxXx (thanks, Japan was fun, but it's good to be back), Black Roses From Hell (I have on my profile that I'm Christian. I'm glad that there are people out there who like my lack of bad language) & Puritimen for reviewing!


	39. Ayaka’s Revelation

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own

Chapter 39: Ayaka's Revelation

For a long time Sakura knew nothing. Eventually she slowly became aware of herself and her dark surroundings (she felt like she was spinning, but it was too dark to tell). This place seemed familiar for some reason…but it took for what felt like forever for her brain to begin to wrap around that thought. Slowly it dawned on Sakura that maybe this darkness was the 'place' she'd been a few times before when she was unconscious. The 'place' where the black 'screen' was…was this it?

A countless amount of time dragged by before anything else of interest happened, but when it finally did, it proved Sakura's theory. A black 'screen' emerged out of the darkness, somehow standing out despite also being black. More time trickled by, in which Sakura didn't think all too much, until finally small swirls of color began to swim across the black screen. Her mind still wanted to float in this 'place' without having to think…but _she_ wanted otherwise…Sakura tried to concentrate on the swirls, but even more time went by before she succeeded.

Finally Sakura knew she was back in complete control of herself, but the 'screen' had yet to change from its mindless swirls to pictures. After more waiting, Sakura once again felt the sensation that she was moving, or spinning, but there was still nothing to back up that feeling, so she chose to ignore it and think about other things instead.

Sakura's mind wandered from the still unchanged screen. If she was unconscious, then how had it happened? What was the last thing she remembered…oh, yeah, she'd been watching the meteor…no, she'd been speaking with the silver light…no, that wasn't the last thing either. She remembered now, she'd been having her head stuffed with information in the Knowing! But how had she come to be unconscious…if that was indeed where she was…or would it be 'how she was'…who knew.

'_Maybe I overused my Kekkei Genkai again…and just like the time with the eclipse, I feinted._' Sakura sighed in self contempt, '_There I go acting weak again…I hope Deidara doesn't decide to use this as an excuse to start bugging me again. Oh well, not much I can do about that while I'm here…I wonder what's going on in the world of the conscious?_' Sakura returned her attention back to the 'screen' just in time to see the swirls begin to solidify into a picture.

She was lying on her cousin's bed again, but now her cousins had fallen asleep on the edge of the bed she was on and there were other people in the room too. Deidara was leaning up against the wall…was that worry she saw on his face? '_Don't tell me it's __me_ _he's worried about. That'd be ludicrous._' Sakura's eyes moved down the 'screen' to land on Ayaka and Tobi.

Ayaka was sitting on one of the other beds, her brother's head lying on her lap, apparently asleep. Mentally Sakura smiled, now she actually had a good amount of information to give them about their past. That should make Ayaka's worried face brighten up. Sakura's eyes scanned the room again, but both Yuri and the green haired man weren't there…neither was Itachi. '_Did I just dream that he was back, then?_'

Sakura was just about to turn back to her body when the door to the room opened and none other than Itachi walked in; Sakura felt her heart skip a beat in happiness. He held something in his hand as he hurried over to her sleeping form. Sakura got closer and watched as he made her drink some of what he was holding. After a moment, Sakura noticed that it was cold medicine. Shocked, Sakura looked at herself again, really looked, and noticed that she did, indeed, have a fever, and that she didn't look too healthy. '_Why didn't I notice this before now? Gee, some medic I am._'

Itachi reached out and stroked her hair once before he turned around emotionlessly and said, "Deidara, you're to go out on patrol, Konan's orders." Deidara growled something under his breath as he pushed off the wall, but Itachi ignored it as he turned to Ayaka, "Konan said you are to go to 'the normal place'. And while you're at it, you are to send your brother off to do his job." Ayaka just nodded, quietly woke up Tobi, and hustled him out the door.

As Deidara left the room, however, Sakura caught what he grumbled under his breath, "…just wanted to be alone with her…" Sakura giggled to herself, he was probably right. As Deidara left the room, he closed the door with a bang…how typical. With a smile, Sakura returned her gaze back to Itachi, who, in turn, was turning back to look at her body.

As he stepped forward, she heard him say quietly, "You need to stop putting yourself in danger when I'm not around…and you need to take better care of yourself." Itachi sighed as he sat next to her body, "You notice when Tobi tries to hide a paper cut, but not when you become sick…maybe you need to work on your priorities, Sakura. Stop putting everyone else's well-being over your own…" He bent down and kissed her forehead, "…you're worth more than anyone else…"

* * *

Ayaka walked down the hall alone, having already sent her brother on his way. She was nearing a corner when she began to hear voices, so she slowed down and stopped at the corner. She didn't need to look to know who the voices belonged to: her master and Leader.

"We should contact him right away-" Yuri was cut off by Leader.

"No." Yuri tried to protest, but he interrupted her again, "He's too busy for us to bother him with such trivial matters."

To Ayaka's surprise, Yuri got angry, something Ayaka had never heard of before, "_Trivial_? His daughter is _sick_! I doubt he'd find that trivial! Li-"

Leader began to yell, "I thought you were over-"

This time Yuri was the one to interrupt him, but her methods shocked Ayaka…she heard a slap reverberate through the halls. "_This _has nothing to do with _that_! This has to do with a father being unaware that his daughter-"

Leader interrupted again, but his voice was calmer for some reason, "The answer is still no. Li should not be informed of this until after she's recovered. If he found out now, while 'his little Sakura' was still sick, you know he'd-"

"Already be on his way," This was a new, male, voice, "isn't that right, Pein." It took a moment, but Ayaka recognized the voice just as Leader retorted angrily.

"Don't speak like that to _me_, Shimaguchi. You're forgetting your place." It was the green haired man from earlier.

Shimaguchi made a 'tut tut' sound and Ayaka could imagine him waving a finger at Leader, "It's not me who's forgetting my place…" Ayaka could hear the teasing smile in his voice as he said, "…_dear Leader_." Leader began to say something furiously, but Shimaguchi interrupted, his voice no longer playful, "Now is not the time, _Leader_. Your…_brother_…is gone, which can only mean one thing."

It wasn't Pein who's voice filled the silence that followed, but Yuri's, "...he's on his way here. But how'd he…?"

Shimaguchi's voice spoke defensively, "Don't look at me! By the time I contacted him, he was already gone." There was a pause, and then Ayaka heard their footsteps begin walking in her direction as he said, "He must have already known…" Ayaka knew she couldn't stay here any longer or else she'd be found, so without hearing the rest of his sentence, she disappeared down the hall. She had to find an alternate rout to where she had been told to go, at least according to Itachi '_Though after having just heard that, I wonder if master Konan will be coming at all. She may get caught up in…whatever that was…and forget about meeting me._'

* * *

The screen of swirling colors changed. Instead of looking at Itachi and herself, she was now looking at the back of a guy that looked like a giant Venus flytrap with legs. In front of Plant Dude there was a woman beaten and bloodied on the ground, a Grass forehead protector tied around her waist. Plant Dude spoke, "You should just tell us what we want to hear." The woman's answer was to spit at him, he kicked her, she spat out blood. "If you don't speak soon, the poison will have been in you for too long, and not even the antidote would be able to end you prolonged suffering."

The woman screamed, but it took a moment for Sakura to understand that it was a scream of agony rather than anger. On closer inspection of the woman, Sakura found what appeared to be nasty bite marks, two on her legs, one on her side, and one on her arm. The woman shuddered and was soon coughing up blood, a lot of blood. A voice similar, but different from before, came from Plant Dude along with a snicker, "Speak now or forever hold your peace, wench."

After another spasm, the woman finally coughed, "Fine, I'll talk, I'll talk. Just make it stop."

The Plant Dude's second voice said, "Talk first…then, we'll see..." From behind Plant Dude, Sakura saw a kunai in his hand, hidden behind his body. Sakura knew that once the woman gave him all the information he wanted, he'd slit her throat. The woman shouldn't have asked him to 'just make it stop'… The woman opened her mouth to speak, and…the 'screen' became swirl filled, losing it's picture.

There then came more waiting, leaving Sakura to wonder about what information the woman had been hiding, to no avail. After a while, the swirls reformed into a picture. Once again she was looking at herself and Itachi. Itachi was putting a wet rag on her bodies fevered head, trying to cool her down. '_Now that I look at me, I don't see how I could have __not __noticed this! It's so obvious that I'm sick that it's not even funny._' Without warning, the door was thrown open without care for those sleeping.

Sakura turned to look at who had come, but just then the 'screen' went blank. A moment later the 'screen' had disappeared too. Another moment and the darkness was taken over by a sudden flash of light, and then…Sakura felt herself falling back into the world of the conscious…and the constraints and weakness of her sickly body.

* * *

There was only one other way to get to her destination, and it was the long way, so she couldn't waste any more time. Ayaka ran through the halls silently, as any good spy could do…not that she was going to admit to being the Akatsuki's spy. No she merely 'gathered information' for the Akatsuki…it just happened that sometimes she would use her Kekkei Genkai to infiltrate an enemy's secret meeting in order to find out things they didn't want the Akatsuki to know… But that didn't necessarily make her a _spy_…kind of.

Ayaka ran around a corner, then quickly retreated back behind said corner as she heard a 'click'. A door was opening, but it wasn't just any door, it was a door that led outside. Someone was coming in. Ayaka stayed hidden, though she couldn't say exactly why, maybe it was her instincts as an information gatherer…or maybe she just wanted to make sure that the person who was coming in was _allowed _in.

The door was opened and closed, letting a man wearing the Akatsuki robe and hat enter. Once inside, however, he removed his hat, and placed it near the door, then turned around, revealing his blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Ayaka immediately recognized his face, even though she had only met him once before, on the day she and her brother had been found by the Akatsuki. This was Master…Leader's brother…wait…hadn't Leader and Konan been talking about him? Why had he come here? What had he already 'known' that would make him come he…

Suddenly it hit Ayaka as her spy, no, her '_information gathering_' thought process, shone a light of understanding upon her. Everything was falling into place. What her master and Leader had been talking about, both before and after Shimaguchi's arrival. Why Sakura had been captured against her will, yet was to be treated like a guest. Why Deidara had been almost killed for what he'd done to Sakura…and why he wasn't. Why Sakura was allowed to do practically anything…

...And what the feeling she'd had ever since she'd met Sakura was…Ayaka raced silently back the way she had just come. She had to wake Sakura up and tell her, otherwise the event may come and go without her ever knowing. Ayaka couldn't let that happen, even if, as a part of the Akatsuki, she had no right to do what she was about to do. This technically had nothing to do with her…but indirectly it did, because she was indebted to Sakura…and beyond that, she was Sakura's friend. And as her friend, she couldn't let Sakura miss this opportunity…to find out the truth.

* * *

Sakura awoke to hands shaking her shoulders and a distant voice calling her name. It took a moment for Sakura to recognize the voice as belonging to Ayaka and then another moment to recognize the well hidden urgency in her voice. Once she had, however, she found the strength to force her eyes to open, despite how heavy they (and the rest of her body, for that matter) felt. Despite her fever, Sakura could see clearly that Ayaka was relived that she'd finally woken up.

Sakura tried to sit up, but she couldn't do it, she didn't have the strength. Ayaka noticed and was about to help her sit up when Itachi put his hand in her way. Ayaka didn't look at him, even though she surely knew that he was glaring at her (and it was probably for the best that she didn't look at him. He was an Uchiha after all…an angry Uchiha).

Ayaka never took her eyes off of Sakura as she said in a quiet but rushed voice, "Fine, I won't sit her up, but I have to tell her something quickly."

It was hard, but somehow Sakura was able to force her voice to work despite her now very sore throat, "What is it, Ayaka? What's troubling-" Sakura couldn't finish the sentence because she started coughing.

Ayaka waited for her coughing to subside before she answered, even though it was obvious that waiting was the last thing she wanted to do. "He's here, Sakura!" Sakura tried to ask 'who', but she only succeeded in coughing some more. After that, Ayaka continued to speak quickly, "Just now I saw him! The Master of the Akatsuki! He's here. At first I didn't know why, but now I do. It's because of you! The similarities only just hit me when I saw him, but Master is-"

The door closing cut her off, Ayaka paled as she turned around. Sakura looked around Ayaka too, wanting to see who had entered (and closed) the door Ayaka had left open in her hast. It was a man with strawberry blonde hair and striking blue eyes who was wearing the Akatsuki robe. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. He was different, older, but there could be no mistake about it. He was…he was… Her world started to spin once again, though this time she wasn't sure if it was from the fever or her shock. Only one confused and shocked word could escape her mouth...

"...Father?"

* * *

There, I've left you hanging off of yet another horrible cliff! I hope you don't hate me. -puppy dog eyes- But anyhow, I wonder how many of you had already guessed that this would happen...

I hope you had a good 4th of July.

I haven't had time to look through this (or to send it to Wolf-Chan) because my dad is only giving me ten minutes to update the story before he takes the computer, so there may be errors.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my Forum are much obliged. Flamers, however, are to dangerous to have around the fireworks left over from the Fourth of July (USA).

Thanks to: Selene98, Miss Anonymiss, shadowfox908, xoBreathe (thanks), Black Fire Blossom (you mean 'waiting' not weighting), aznkitty180, Pandastacia, BlackButterfly-RedRose, Cute-Killer-Gurl (you're confused…good, you should be!), Florida Alicat, Spirit Seer (since you mentioned the rippled pond thing…I'll tell you that it's been mentioned even before the last chapter. The only living Genkaku that we know of is Ayaka), xokatherine229, .assassinator (it may not have been what they'd Seen that made him lock the door…), Theblackroseofkonoha, Quiet Moon (I'll be waiting to hear from you in three weeks, then), akatsuki's hikari, hot-ninja-babe, Cster, Hao'sAnjul (We went to a lot of places. Here are some of them: Kyoto, Tokyo, Ozu, Nara -deer park-, Hiroshima, Atami), rinnyzito, SpeedDemon315, dark Alley, Inner Self, krazykoreangurl, Animeprincess514, XxKuroitsukixX, I-don't-have-imagination, & SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura for reviewing!


	40. Talking to Father

Disclaimer: Kyaaaaa, stop asking already! Do I really need to say it over eighty times?

**Chapter 40: Talking to Father**

"…_Father?"_

The room was silent as everyone in the room (including Sakura's newly awoken cousins) stared at the man. The man chuckled and strode forward. Once he had passed Itachi and was standing by Sakura's bed, he spoke, "I'm surprised you recognize me."

Sakura tried to sit up and speak, "The photo-" Her attempt failed as coughs as well as pain racked her body and she lost all the strength she had conjured.

"The photo…that makes sense." He reached out and touched her hand gently, "Don't push yourself." His eyes shifted to Ayaka and he was about to speak when the sound of the door opening interrupted him. In the doorway stood Hiraku, and behind him stood Pein and Yuri.

Hiraku was the one who spoke as he leaned against the doorframe casually, "Hey, long time no see, Li. Heh, _knew _you'd be here." Hiraku smiled, ignoring the glare Pein sent him.

Pein pushed past Hiraku angrily, "You shouldn't have come here so suddenly…you should go back. You're the only one who's proficient at using that Juts-"

Suddenly Li's eyes flashed, cutting Pein off. When he spoke, his voice was a quiet growl, but the intensity of it was astounding, "_Pein_…that sounded _dangerously _close to an order."

Pein took a step back, obviously fazed. "No…I was merely trying to say that the Jut-"

Li interrupted him again, his voice dangerously low, "The Jutsu can wait. I haven't been with my daughter for almost sixteen years…she takes precedence right now." He sighed, the anger ebbing away, leaving only the intensity to still fill the room as he looked at first Yuri, than Hiraku, "Besides, I'd already been preparing to come soon. I just sped up my plans a little when I noticed that my little Sakura was sick."

Behind him, Sakura sneezed five times in a row. Li glanced back, and in doing so his eyes caught sight of Ayaka and he remembered something. Turning back around he heard her stifle a sound of some sort, but he ignored it as he spoke, "Oh, and by the way Yuri, you've taught young Ayaka well. Her stealth is magnificent. If it had been anyone other than me, I doubt they would have noticed her being just around the corner…or her quickly running off after she'd seen them enter. However it was me, and I did sense her…" He turned to look at Ayaka with a smile on his face; however, it was impossible to tell if the smile was a good thing or a bad thing. "Thank you for showing me directly to my little Sakura's room."

Ayaka tried to hide all her emotions; however Sakura felt a tiny tremor from her, so she looked up after her last sneeze, but her father had already turned back around. She reached out a hand and gently touched Ayaka's hand comfortingly. Ayaka gave her a fake smile, trying, and failing, to be reassuring as she propped the pillows up behind Sakura almost nervously.

Sakura's father then turned to look at everyone else in the room as he said, "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like some time alone with my daughter."

"But-" Inuka began to argue groggily, but Hanako covered her mouth as Li turned to look at them.

"Little Hoshi," he began with a smile on his face that told nothing about what he was thinking or feeling, "your sister is right, you shouldn't argue. I don't believe the Thirty-Sixth would be happy if she found out you did." Sakura watched as Inuka paled, Noya and Hanako bowed (forcing Inuka to bow too), and then all three of her cousins silently slip past her father and out the door. Sakura quickly looked at Itachi, and he understood her silent plea. She didn't want her cousins to become lost or injured because no one was with them. He nodded and followed her cousins.

"Come, Ayaka, we have things to speak about." Yuri didn't wait for her subordinate to answer before she turned around and headed out the door. Sakura reached over and gave Ayaka's hand a reassuring squeeze as she stood up. Ayaka squeezed back and then broke their contact as she followed her master out the door. Before she was all the way out the door, she turned and mouthed 'later'. Sakura slightly nodded, '_Now all that's left is Leader, Pein, wasn't it, and the green haired guy-_' Sakura's thoughts were cut off by another bout of coughs that made bursts of pain shoot through her body.

Li turned to Pein, who had begun to say something, and interrupted with that same smile "We'll talk later. I am going to talk to my little Sakura now…and you are going to leave us be until I say otherwise. Understood?" Pein mumbled something under his breath as he nodded. He turned, passed the green haired person, and trudged out of the room, still grumbling under his breath. And then there was one.

"Hey Li," the green haired man began casually, "I won't take up too much of your time. Just thought I ought to remind you of something." He smiled genuinely at Li, who's only response was to raise an eyebrow, "I know you have a lot to say to the little Miss, and undoubtedly she has just as much to say to you, but remember the state she's in. I think you'd best keep it short. That's all." He smiled mischievously and gave a childish wave, "Tootles."

In the next instant, he was gone from sight, though a moment before he had disappeared, Sakura could have sworn that his eyes had changed colors. It was also in that instant that Sakura recalled her dream…if she remembered correctly, the green haired guy's name was Hiraku…

* * *

Sakura quickly turned her eyes back to her father and saw something like a smirk on his face as he looked at where the green haired guy, Hiraku, had been…the first bit of real emotion he'd shown. He turned to her, and when his eyes caught hers, his smirk turned into a smile…a _real _smile. Sakura stared, unsure of what she should do as he closed the door and started walking towards her.

In the end, she didn't really have a choice. Her body decided to make her cough, sending more pain searing throughout her body. When she looked again, his smile had fallen, having been replaced with yet another real emotion; this time, worry. His hand was reaching out just as she felt something warm and wet on her arm.

She turned her head, ignoring how the movement made the world spin for a moment, and found that her arm was bandaged…and that blood was now beginning to soak through that bandage. She looked down at her other arm, the only other part of her that she could see due to the covers. It was bandaged too, with red spots slowly growing in size. No wonder her body had been racked with pain every time she had coughed, sneezed, or made any other sudden movement.

The hand stopped before touching her, having noticed the same thing she had. Li sighed, "I suppose we'd best see to your wounds first. You need new bandages." He had only to look to his left to find the bandages that Yuri had left after having applied them earlier. He reached over and picked them up in one hand, and then reached for her arm.

For a moment, Sakura thought about moving her arm away from him, but then commonsense took a hold of her. Her wounds needed to be rebandaged and it didn't matter who did it, so long as it was done. She watched as her father, her blessedly alive, yet cursedly apart of the Akatsuki father, unwound the old bandages from her arm deftly, treated the wounds again, and then wound new bandages back around her arm.

As Li began work on her other arm, the silence became too much for Sakura. Finally she tried to voice the questions swarming around her mind, "If you were alive, why didn't…you could have said something, but…and the Akatsuki, why…are you evil…my enemy?" Forgetting that her father was currently bandaging her arm, she brought her hands to her head. The questions were overpowering her. "But you're my father. And if _you're _my enemy, then…then…then what does that make Itachi and Ayaka a-and Tobi a-an-and-"

Her father's hand gently lowering her arms made her stutter, and his voice made her trail off, "Shh. You'll only stress yourself." He finished applying the fresh bandages, then pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "There is no such thing as evil, merely different viewpoints. I am the founder of the Akatsuki." Sakura nearly chocked.

"And the Akatsuki has been labeled many hidden village's 'enemy', including my village of birth. However, the way I see it, they are simply labeling what they do not understand. They are not my enemy, they are merely misguided. I am willing, and have begun, to bring them to the path I see. However, in doing so I become more and more 'evil' in their eyes, whereas in my eyes, I only see me reaching for my goal."

Sakura stared, coughed some, then stared again. Was her father deranged? "Of course there's evil!" she exclaimed, then regretted it as it caused another long bought of coughs. Once she could speak she continued in a scratchy voice, "Unless the goal of the Akatsuki has magically changed…you can't tell me that trying to take over the world _isn't _evil." To her surprise, her father smiled and gave a quiet chuckle.

"That sounds very similar to what you mother said the first time I told her what my goal was." His smile widened and he gently patted her on the head like a small child; she batted his hand away, but he just kept smiling. "But just like your mother, you'll eventually come to see that once again it is merely a case of different viewpoints." Sakura was barely able to stop herself from outwardly shivering at the thought of being 'just like' her mother. From what she knew of Junko, she was happy she'd been raised by her aunt.

"When you say 'take over the world', it will obviously bring negative thoughts to mind. That is why it makes some people label it as 'evil'. However," he chuckled again, "if you were to label it 'unite the world' rather than 'take over the world', it would take on a completely different light, even though the two phrases are stating the same exact thing."

He had a point there, but that still didn't mean what he was doing was right. Sakura tried to find her voice in order to say so, but all she accomplished was to irritate her throat again. As she coughed her father's hand offered her a cup. She took it and drank deeply; as she did so she distantly noted it tasted of licorice and marsh mallow, natural cough remedies, as well as something else she couldn't discern. As she set the cup down, her father started speaking, so she lost the chance to argue with him.

"Well, enough about that, we can talk on it later. For now, why don't we talk about your Kekkei Genkai. I know you've been experimenting with your Hoshi Eyes, so why don't you tell me about that?" Sakura stared, but that stare quickly turned into a slight glare. She had the feeling that Junko had already told him what she had and had not learned to do with her Eyes. She said so; he just smiled and said, " Maybe, maybe not. Why don't you tell me anyways."

Sakura told him about some of what she'd done, though she left out many details. Either he already knew them, and thus it would be more of a waste of her time to tell him, or he didn't know and she could keep it that way. She wasn't quite sure yet how far she could trust her father. He was an Akatsuki after all, but he hadn't done anything too bad to her, at least not yet (other than maybe the cutting off the Chakra thing. She'd have to ask him about that later, when she got the chance).

Sakura debated about whether or not to tell him about any of her dreams. These were the one thing she was pretty sure he wouldn't know about, though she couldn't say how she'd come to feel that way. But then she remembered that he would at least know about her Walking Dream that helped her find Deidara. Intermittently interrupted by coughs, she told him about that dream, then wondered if maybe she shouldn't have, as it seemed to interest him much more than it should have.

"I see… So have you had any other dreams like that one?" Though his voice was friendly and open, as was his face, Sakura got the odd feeling that he was hoping that she hadn't had any other such dreams. But she had. The first one to pop into her head was the one about the door. After that came the Prophetic Dreams she'd had. And then came other dreams, flowing in one by one. Should she tell him about them? Would there be a point in telling him any of these?

Sakura sneezed, then coughed some more as a thought came to her. Maybe her father could tell her about that door…but considering how the door seemed to be a secret, maybe he wouldn't tell her. But maybe he would. She wouldn't know unless she told him about it, but if she told him all about it and he didn't want her to try to find it, he may do something to stop her.

Maybe, then, should she only tell him about her Seeing the door, and wonder what was behind it, conveniently leaving out the part of the dream about walking to find it and trying to open it…as well as leaving out that she had, on a few occasions, tried to find it in real life. Yes, that would be the best way to go about things. If she was lucky, he may even let her go see for herself what was behind the door.

Sakura chose her words carefully as she told of her dream in her scratchy, quiet voice, "Well…there was this one dream." she figured she should leave out the part about having had the dream many times. Let him think it had only been once. "I Saw this door in a hallway underground filled with many other identical doors, but for some reason this one door stood out to me. However, at the same time, I felt as if the door was…trying to not stand out." Sakura looked up at her father, "I was wondering what was behind that door. The dream never got very far, so I don't know. Could you tell me?"

For a moment Sakura thought that her father's smile had twitched. It was then that she realized that her father's smile was no longer genuine. As he spoke, his voice remained fatherly, but in an odd way. "You don't need to know, my little Sakura" Of course…how could she have forgotten…luck had _never _been on her side.

Sakura, holding back anger that had appeared from some unknown place within her, smiled an equally fake smile, "Why don't you tell me anyways? I may not _need _to know, but I _want _to." Sakura distantly noticed that she was becoming tired, but she ignored it. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

For a moment her father's smile fell into a frown, "No, little Sakura." His fake smile returned, "It is better for you not to know."

For some reason that made the anger within her swell larger, and larger, until it burst. She didn't know where all this anger was coming from, but it had caught her up in it as she started to yell as loudly as her weak voice would allow "How would you know if it's better or not! I've got a door haunting my dreams here, and I want to know why! Tell me the truth! I-" A bout of coughs tore through her, forcing her to quite her outburst. She quickly drank more from the cup between coughs.

As her coughs died down and she fought her tiredness, she looked back at her father as he began to speak, his face guarded. "What is truth? Is truth what I tell you, or is truth what you hear? Is the truth what I'm saying, or what I'm not saying? I told you the truth, but…is the truth always truthful? I wonder…do you think that maybe the truth differs from one person to another?" He smiled, but for some reason it appeared to be holding another emotion…maybe sadness…maybe longing…she couldn't be sure. "I truly wonder…"

As his voice trailed off, his face slowly returned to a caring smile…a true smile even though it was guarded. His hands took the cup from her and put it aside, and then they pulled the covers up over her shoulders. "I was planning on telling you more about yourself and your…ancestors, but I can see that now is not a good time. You should rest." Sakura tried to argue, to say anything, but her voice only came out as a painful squeak…and for some reason her eyes were getting really heavy.

"Sleep. We'll speak more later." He hesitated a moment, then bent down and kissed her forehead in a fatherly way. "Good night, little Sakura." He then crossed the room to the door, turned off the lights, and left. Despite all the emotions and questions swirling around within her, Sakura's exhausted body almost immediately fell asleep, taking her mind with it.

* * *

There, sorry about the wait. But I was busy volunteering from seven in the morning to five in the afternoon, so didn't have any time at all to type. I hope this chapter didn't seem choppy…because I was only able to write it in snippets, since even after volunteering I was still busy.

Reviews and constructive criticisms (as well as people going to my FORUM) are welcome to have a cyber-gingerbread-man. Flamers, however, won't even find a crumb to scramble after. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Miss Anonymiss, aRiShImA-hIkArI, LovelyLittleAngel144, Lady Mikomi (remember, _half_ brother), Pandastacia, aznkitty180, LilBitzer, .assassinator, Animeprincess514 (if you find any spelling errors, please tell me. I am human after all, I make mistakes), xokatherine229, akatsuki's hikari (thanks, I fixed it), Black Fire Blossom (not dumb. About half the people hadn't expected it), CinderellaSyndrome, krazykoreangurl, SpeedDemon315, Cute-Killer-Gurl, Hao'sAnjul, Theblackroseofkonoha, CherryBlossom9470, rinnyzito, BeautifulMoonLitRose, cosmic imaginer (_maybe_), mikazuki-chan, Ashi-Ikari, MachikoTakara, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha (thank you for telling me your name changed), bRattY-eBonY-cArcAss17, LadySakuraForest, & barney bittman for reviewing!


	41. Lucky or Not

Disclaimer: You think I own Naruto?…-sigh-…come with me…I have a little test for you. Here, look into the light…keep looking…yes, I'll stay right here. Just don't look away from the light…-walks away-…'_I wonder how long it will take them to notice?_'

**Chapter 41: Lucky or Not**

It took all his restraint not to crush the sphere in his hands. It was once again showing him nothing but an empty clearing. Useless! He removed his angry red gaze from the now empty orb and turned to glare at the one who had started to speak, Orochimaru. "No luck again, eh, Sasuke?" Sasuke glared at him before turning around and leaving the chamber without a word. He was not in the mood.

He stalked down the passageway to his room, his Sharingan warning anyone who came within his sight to get _out _of his sight, and fast. He was angry…very angry…and the idiots here knew by now to stay out of his way when he was angry. He banged his door shut and sat on his bed heavily, his anger rising from him like steam. '_Itachi, I'll kill you._'

He would never forgive Itachi for killing his family, and now he had another thing to never forgive him for. Itachi was playing with Sakura, he just knew it; he was using her like a tool, and she was oblivious to it. He knew Sakura well, and now that he remembered what had happened back when he was little, he could understand why she was falling for his tricks. She thought he was still the person she had known in the past. His fist hit the bed.

Dang it, why was she so naive? She always had been, and apparently some things never changed. She was smart, he knew that, after all, she was the only one in the academy that had come close to his scores. However, despite her smarts, he also knew she was good at fooling herself. She liked to believe that everything was ok. She hated tension and fighting, and he had always wondered why someone as fragile as her had become a ninja. It was obvious she wasn't cut out for it. She clearly took after her Hoshi bloodline in that aspect.

He knew she'd become stronger over the years. Even in Sound they heard rumors of Tsunade's famous apprentice. But he knew Sakura better than those who only knew her as rumors. He was sure that the rumors had their bases set in fact, but rumors tended to be stretched far from the truth. From his new found memories, he knew she had become a very good medic, and he also knew that her fighting skills had improved greatly from when they were young, but he also knew that she was still weak and vulnerable. She always had been and she always would be.

Sasuke laid back as his thoughts turned to the night he'd left Konoha. She had been the only person in the whole village to guess what he was up to. In some ways, she had known him better than Naruto. He had listened as she kept spewing her pretty words. But he had known that was all they really were, pretty words. They had nothing to do with him.

When she had said she loved him, it had made him…happy…but it didn't change the fact that he'd made up his mind to become stronger. She had said she wanted him to stay with her, but they both knew that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to stay weak in that place. She had then switched to saying that she would come with him, but he wouldn't let that happen either. He had known even then that she would only have continued to try to get him to go back to Konoha, either that or have been killed by one of the other Sound ninja.

So he had done what he had always done, he called her annoying. After all, she _was _annoying. It was nice that she cared about him, but she didn't always understand him, and it annoyed him beyond words. And then she had threatened to scream. It was the only real threat she posed to him. So he had gently knocked her out, but not before thanking her. After all, she had cared enough about him to stay up all night, waiting on the chance that he would walk by, so that she could try to stop him. Beyond that, he was sure that even she had known deep down that it would be a fruitless effort, but she had tried anyways.

If she had been anyone else, he knew the night wouldn't have ended exactly as it had, depending on who else it could have been. If it had been Naruto or someone else strong like him, he would have had to fight them first, and then leave them. If it had been someone weak like that Hyuuga girl, he would have just knocked them unconscious and let them fall where they stood while he went on his way. But not Sakura. He couldn't bring himself to even let her fall to the ground. He had caught her, then left her on the nearby bench.

He wished he had known back then that leaving her there would mean that Itachi would one day be able to mess with her mind; making her think that he wasn't the malicious monster that he was. But he had…and Sakura… Sasuke's fist hit the wall in anger, causing it to crack, but he didn't care.

…Sakura had always been fooled too easily into thinking that what she was seeing through the rose colored glass was real.

* * *

Li leaned against the doorframe, listening to the sound of his daughters sleeping, but raged, breath. Beside him Hiraku materialized out of thin air, but his sudden appearance didn't surprise Li in the least. He'd known Hiraku would be waiting just outside the door. After all, Hiraku wouldn't even have left the room if he hadn't pushed him out under the pretense of closing the door. Just because he hadn't seen him still in the room, didn't mean he hadn't known that he was there. That was Hiraku for you…as was something else.

"Hiraku, you didn't have to put sleeping medication in with her drink. She would have fallen asleep sooner or later on her own."

Hiraku scratched his head and said with a smile, "Yeah, I know, but I figured that sooner was better than later. After all, if she's anything like you, and I get the feeling she is, then once she's set her mind on something, she'll never give up on it until she passes out."

Li sighed, he knew Hiraku was right about that. Sakura was a strong willed girl, just like her mother. And beyond just that, she could see through his false emotions. Though when he thought about that, that may have come from being Itachi's girlfriend…oh, yeah, he'd have to remember to talk to Itachi about that before he left. "Oh, and Hiraku…next time don't listen in on my conversation with my daughter."

Hiraku laughed cautiously, "Heh, you caught me." His smile fell then as he spoke again, "But I now know it's a good thing my sister and I upped the strength of the barrier around there. Since I've known she was here I've been doing some of my own research on her past. And I agree, it would be much better for her to never know. But I'm still worried that somehow she may use those Hoshi Eyes of hers to get past our barrier again, just like she did with the one blocking the way to Deidara."

Hiraku sighed, Li patted him on the shoulder once, then said, "You've brought the barrier to the physical level, haven't you?" Hiraku just nodded glumly, "Then there shouldn't be a problem as long as one of us who deactivate the barrier doesn't go around there with her. Even if she find's the barrier and is able to withstand it's effects long enough to actually notice it is Chakra made, she still won't be able to diffuse it. Her Hoshi Eyes can't do that. Pein and I could, but not her…"

He paused and shook his head, "Not at her current level, anyways. She's still only at the first level, which means she still can't purposefully use it…and from the talk we just had, I have a feeling it may still be a while before she can advance to the second level. So no, you needn't worry about her inheritance getting her through your barrier, only her luck."

Hiraku chuckled good-naturedly, "Well then, I shouldn't have too much to worry about. After all the research I've done on her, I can say that luck hasn't really been her strongest category." He was about to laugh again, but then he noticed the look on his Master's face. "What is it?"

Li gave him a halfhearted smile as he looked back in Sakura's general direction, "You say she is not favored by luck…but I wonder…is luck just another one of those things that can change depending on how you look at it? You say she has bad luck, but the way I see it, she's had plenty of good luck. After all, she has escaped the curse as well as the family that was going to place it on her. She has grown up in a relatively nurturing environment. She was allowed to become a ninja, which would never have happened with the Hoshi's. And those are only the tip of the iceberg. If that isn't good luck, then what is?"

Hiraku sighed, then said the best answer he could think of, "Maybe her luck is neither good nor bad, but somewhere in-between. Maybe with her, for every bad thing that happens there is a good thing soon to come…and vice versa. Maybe, just maybe, her luck is perfectly balanced…"

Li looked at him a moment, contemplating what he'd said, and then he gave a small smile, "Maybe you're right…I just hope that doesn't become a danger to her."

"What do you mean?"

Li's smile was once again gone from his face, "I mean…if her luck likes to balance itself out…then what if a lot of good things happened one after another…making the balance uneven…then wouldn't that mean that soon bad things would come to crush her to try to restore that balance? I hope not…" Li turned to look in his daughters direction again and smiled, "I'm happy that I'm at least able to be here with her right now."

Hiraku let a large smile cover his face at his friend and Master's comment, "And I'm sure she's just as happy you're here. After all, Konan told me about how the little Miss practically _ordered _Pein to let her see you when he told her that you were alive. She's one brave girl, I'll give her that. Of course, she couldn't faze Pein any, but that's not…" He trailed off, Li's face had done it again…it's smile had fallen. '_Shoot, what'd I say wrong __this__ time?_'

Li's voice was quiet, "What was that?" It sent shivers down his spine, and he wasn't one to be easily frightened. "Did you say that she _ordered _him to let her see me?" Hiraku could only nod, he couldn't find his voice under the pressure of Li's anger. Li's eyebrows snapped together with an audible click. In an instant he had swung around and was storming down the hall quickly.

Hiraku just stood there and watched as he disappeared around a corner. 'I _made him mad…again…don't know how, but I did…_' he sighed, '_When sis finds out…she's going to kill me_', he lowered his head in defeat as he finished his thoughts, '_…again!_'

* * *

Li found his brother in their normal meeting place. He slammed the door behind him as he walked up to his brother, not even trying to hide his anger. Pein's ringed eyes turned and looked into his own. He knew that his anger had awoken his Kekkei Genkai, making his eyes become ringed in a similar way to Pein's, but he didn't really care right now.

"Pein! You didn't tell me that my daughter ordered you to let her see me. Why did you leave that out of your report?"

Pein said defensively, "I didn't leave it out, after all, I did tell you it would be good to visit the girl eventually. I just worded it in a way that wouldn't send you stampeding down here without a thought to the Jutsu…like you did today. Why is everyone so wrapped up with that little girl! She-" His voice cut off as suddenly excruciating pain ravaged his body. He fell to his knees, doing his best to not scream in his pain.

Then the pain vanished just as suddenly as it had come, and now he was on his knees at his Master's feet. He looked up, and for a brief moment his eyes met Li's, but he quickly looked back down. He knew he was no match for his half brother. Li spoke in a cold voice, "Don't you _ever _speak like that to me. Remember who I am…I am the one who saved you when your own village tried to exterminate you, I am the one who taught you all you know about our bloodline, and I am the one you swore allegiance to."

He paused, "Look at me, Pein." Pein's eyes slowly raised and found eyes devoid of emotion, "I am your Master, the Master of the Akatsuki, and eventually the Master of the world. And you know what, that 'little girl', as you keep rudely calling her, is my daughter. And I told you, you are to take care of her needs…and you are to report _everything _about her to me. _Not _play with words to hide their true meaning."

Li's hand reached out and landed heavily on his shoulder, "I didn't think I had to tell you this, both Yuri and the Shimaguchi twins have come to understand it themselves, but it seems you aren't smart enough to figure it out on your own. So let me spell it out for you." Li paused, and Pein noticed something in his eyes, something he couldn't name, "I am your Master, and soon the Master of the world. Sakura is my _heir_. Her orders come second only to _mine_…**Not **_yours_."

Li's hand raised from his shaking shoulder to lightly pat his cheek. On his face, he wore a smile, but his eyes he were emotionless. "Now that you understand that, little brother, we can speak about business." His hands reached down and helped his half brother up. "First order of business, how many beasts do we have yet to seal?"

Pein mentally sighed in relief, finally a safe topic, "Two. Soon to be one."

Li nodded, "Good. Their power will be the final tool in my arsenal to unite every nation under one ruler, myself. And after me, my daughter, and after her, her child, and so on. I will create a new era…" Pein watched as Li's smile grew, "…an era where people will fear starting a war, lest we intervene with our destructive power…" and this time he knew it held true emotion. Li always smiled like that when he spoke on this subject, probably because it had been 'his darling Junko's' dream as well.

"…an era as close to peace as humanly possible."

* * *

There, I know it's a little short and that there wasn't any Itachi/Sakura, but a part that I was going to put in here became too long, so I had to make it into a separate chapter. That means that there will be some Itachi/Sakura at the end of the next chapter, so you'll just have to wait.

I have limited time to update again (blame my dad), so if there are any errors, I'm sorry. I now have a deviantART account (still called JUCHKO) and am uploading my pictures onto there, since for some reason photobucket is causing problems.

Reviews and constructive criticisms (as well as people going to my forum, which there is a link to on my profile) are more than welcome to a cyber-cup of tea, or coffee, or soda/pop (whichever you call it), or water. Flamers on the other hand, will have to make due with the same drink Sakura had…you know, the one with the sleeping medicine in it. Well, let's go on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: krazykoreangurl, Cute-Killer-Gurl, Spirit Seer, xokatherine229, Animeprincess514, akatsuki's hikari, NightWing101 (well, you go one of your answers), Hao'sAnjul, Defiant-Crayon (I know there hasn't been much Itachi/Sakura...I'm working on that), 10tealeaf, .assassinator, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, I-Love-Akatsuki, LadySakuraForest (I'm not sure how long it will be, yet. I'm curently guessing 50, maybe 60, chapters...but I'm not sure), SpeedDemon315, Quiet Moon, & Unices (thanks) for reviewing!


	42. Dream or Possibility

Disclaimer: …You _still _think I own…well, then _I _think malicious fairies have melted your brain.

**Chapter 42: Dream or Possibility**

_Sakura's mind stirred as an odd dream faded out of sight. As the new dream swirled up to take its place, Sakura got the feeling that she was no longer just dreaming, she was Dream Walking. She couldn't say how she knew; she just felt that it was so. Sakura noticed that the dream was fuzzy. Odd, she hadn't had a dream like that since she'd returned from the past. Was she…Time Walking in her dream? Or did the fuzziness have to do with something else?_

_Without trying, Sakura's body took her forward. She looked around her, trying to figure out where she was as her body continued to move of its own accord. It looked like Konoha, but it looked changed; something about it was different, but she couldn't tell what. As she walked, Sakura saw a couple sitting under blooming cherry trees drinking tea while their two children sparred in the background. Sakura was about to walk past, but then she did a double take. '_Is that…?_'_

_Her dream body was kind enough to stop and let her stare at the couple. They looked like an older version of Tenten and Neji. Was she looking at a possible future…or were these people that just happened to look like older versions of her friends? Sakura looked at the children. Both boys had the Hyuuga eyes and dark brown hair…and even though the picture was blurry, she could tell they also had the same face. They were identical twins and appeared to be about eight or nine._

_Just then the brown haired woman stood up and waved, then turned around to look at her children. She spoke to the children, and Sakura recognized her voice right away. This was Tenten, "Hizashi, Hiashi, stop playing around, your Aunt Hinata is almost here with Noboru and the Hokage." Sakura turned to look and found that Hinata was indeed coming over the hill; ahead of her ran a light brown haired boy, about five, maybe six, years old, and beside her walked… '_Is that Naruto? It is! And he's wearing…he actually became Hokage! Great for him!_'_

_The two families greeted each other, and then the three children parted from their parents so that they could train together, leaving their parents to talk. Tenten offered Hinata a cup of tea, she accepted, and then she offered Naruto some tea as well. His answer made Sakura laugh, "No thanks, I'll wait for ramen…when are we eating? I hope it's soon. I want my ramen." Some things would never change._

_Neji spoke sarcastically, "Whoever said anything about ramen?" He put down his cup as Naruto yelled at him rather childishly and Hinata tried to quiet him. "Calm down…We still are waiting for Sakura and her family to arrive before we go eat." _

_Hinata's voice spoke quietly from beside Tenten, "W-will…_h-he _be coming?" _

_Tenten answered, "No, he had business elsewhere, apparently." Hinata gave a sigh of relief._

_Naruto began to say in a low tone of voice, "I'm glad. I'll never like-" he cut himself off as he saw something behind Sakura's obviously unnoticed dream body. He mumbled something, then asked, "I take it Sasuke isn't coming either?" Tenten just shook her head no. _

_Sakura's body turned around and she saw five pink haired people and one black haired boy top the hill. Sakura's eyes were immediately drawn to the three pink haired adults, two appeared to be twins, and the other appeared to be way more than obviously pregnant and was wearing a doctors coat. Sakura didn't need her Chakra to tell that there was more than one baby in…herself… Sakura blushed at that thought._

_Her attention then turned to the long haired twin (probably Inuka) and the black haired boy who looked about seven. Both of them held a pink haired toddler on their back as they raced down the hill. The three-year-olds, one boy, one girl, laughed in glee as they sped down the hill. The black haired boy reached the bottom of the hill first and struggled to set down his cargo…who apparently didn't want to be set down._

_Inuka, out of breath, laughed, "You beat me again." She lowered her tag-a-long to the ground as she sniggered, "But you just can't seem to get the dismount correct, little nephew." His only answer was to glare at her as he continued to tug at the persistent pink haired child…that was clinging to him like glue. Hands reached over and detached the parasite from it's host. They belonged to Sakura._

"_Go play with the others, I'll keep the twins here with us." Her son thanked her and started to run in the direction of the other three. Sakura called after him, "Oh, and don't go picking fights." she then raised her voice so that the other three knew that she knew they were listening in, "The same goes for all of you. I don't want to have to spend more time patching any of you up than I already have to."_

_Naruto rubbed his head guiltily, "I already talked to Noboru about his practical jokes…"_

_Sakura scoffed, "He takes after you, you know…in fact, I'd say that at times he can be worse than you ever were." Naruto just laughed nervously. Sakura watched then as her 'physical' self lost her battle with laughter. Soon everyone other than Neji (who was smirking into his cup of tea) and the toddlers (who were oblivious to the conversation) was laughing too. Soon, however, the laughter dissipated as the dream faded to darkness._

_Ahead of her, Sakura saw three, no, four lights far away in the darkness. Two were bright red and moving around near each other, while the others were a slightly dull blue and a dull orange. The blue was moving towards the other two, but the orange didn't move. As the blue light neared the red lights, Sakura noticed that both red lights were dimming, though one faster than the other. Then the blue light moved in between the two red lights, it's color instantly dulling. There came a flash of bright light, or was it thousands of cracks on glass at once, and…_

* * *

…_Sakura was in another dream. This time she was watching herself (who was not pregnant) talk to older versions of Shikamaru and Temari. She knew they were in the hospital and that she was acting as a doctor rather than a friend at that moment. Shikamaru was leaning lazily against the wall by the door while Temari was sitting in front of 'physical' Sakura, looking anxious. "It's simple," Sakura said casually, "you're pregnant."_

_Temari's eyes widened, then her hand slipped to her fan as she turned to glare at Shikamaru. "It's all your fault!" Shikamaru mumbled something that sounded like 'not completely', then he bleached as she began to stand up; he wasn't about to wait. He had made his quick getaway out the door before she had grabbed her fan. She was soon dashing out of the room after him, though, shouting, "Shikamaru, I'll kill you!" _

_To Sakura's surprise, her 'physical' self only laughed, then stepped outside into the hall. Outside she turned to a ten or eleven year old girl with a Leaf forehead protector who was holding her sleeping two-year-old sister on her lap. The ten year old asked with a sigh, "Why does mother want to kill father this time?"_

_Sakura answered nonchalantly, "She's pregnant."_

"_Again?"_

"_Yup."_

"_Do you know what gender."_

"_Female."_

"_Again?"_

"_Yup…how many is that now?"_

"_Including me, that will make seven…all girls…poor dad."_

"_Yup. I hope Temari calms down before she catches him" Sakura said as a yelp was heard in the distance, "…otherwise I'll have to deal with another emergency case. I've already had twelve today, I don't want to make it thirteen." _

"_Don't worry, she won't kill him…not completely anyways. She wouldn't have married someone who she could bring herself to kill…at least, I don't think so…" she shrugged, "She hasn't killed him yet anyways, and she's had plenty of chances."_

_As their doctor, she knew the girl was right. Sakura sighed, then changed the subject. "You just recently became a Gennin, so, how's your training going? How's your team?"_

"_Well enough…though sometimes Hiashi's a jerk. I don't get it. Most of the time he keeps his opinion to himself, but not when it comes to me, _nooo_. You'd never know we are the same age. Hizashi's nice, on the other hand, but he's a little too protective of me…both of them are, but Hizashi more so. For some reason he always tries to stick close to me in battle. What's he afraid of? That I'll actually get to do something other than watch their backs? Why are boys so confusing?"_

_Both Sakuras hid a smile. It sounded like both of her teammates had crushes on her, and she was clueless to it. 'Physical' Sakura said elusively, "I'm sure you'll understand in time." The girl just rolled her eyes. "Where are your other sisters?"_

"_The older ones are at the academy and the younger ones are with uncle Kankuro. Except, of course, Momo." she indicated the sleeping toddler, "Uncle Kankuro's makeup…I mean war paint…makes her scream and throw things at him…we're hoping that will pass soon. If it doesn't, I'll be stuck on babysitting duty for a __long__ time." She shrugged, "Well, at least Momo takes after father…except when it comes to uncle Kankuro…but that's the only exception I know of. Oh, wait, she also doesn't like Sasuke Uchiha." _

_Sakura said something in return, but the dream was fading into darkness, so she didn't catch it. In the darkness, she saw the same lights from before, the two red and the blue and orange. Once again the blue traveled towards the red, leaving the dull orange where it was. As had happened before, the blue got between the two red lights, but this time it was one of the red lights that dulled significantly. There came a flash of bright light and what may have been a cracking sound, and…_

* * *

…_she found herself in yet another dream. This time it was raining, and the only people in the picture were her and Naruto. They were standing in front of a grave…but the picture was too blurry for her to read the name etched into the rock. It was probably a good thing too…she didn't want to know. 'Physical' Sakura cried as she placed a flower on the grave. Naruto tried to comfort her. Sakura couldn't be sure because of the rain, but Naruto may have been shedding tears as well._

_Sakura felt anguish for the both of them. She knew that this could only be a possible future…thank goodness for the Laws of Time. If she had anything to do with it, this future would never come to pass. But what could have…no, she didn't want to know. She didn't want to think about it. She could feel the raw pain heavy in the air despite this being only a dream…she didn't want any idea of what could cause pain strong enough to…Sakura felt a tear slip down her cheek…to do this to her._

_Naruto began to lead 'physical' Sakura away from the grave, but she protested, saying something too quietly for Sakura to hear. Naruto continued to lead her away anyways. She protested again, but this time Sakura caught some of what she said, "…least let me visit her grave before…"_

_Naruto sighed, Sakura only caught parts of what he said, "Fine…visit…but only for…I don't think…friend would…to get sick…"_

_She nodded, then they both headed off into the rain…and the picture faded to the darkness and the lights once more. The blue light left the orange light and headed for the red lights, as it had before, but this time it apparently got there too late. Just as the blue light arrived, one of the red lights flickered and died. Sakura expected the blinding light, the cracks on glass, and the sound of breaking when it happened…_

* * *

…_Yet another dream…this one even worse…She was in another graveyard and it was raining again, but this time she wasn't in Konoha…and she was alone. Sakura looked around, but everything was too drab and dark for her to figure out where she might be. Her dream body moved her so that she was standing by her 'physical', self. Once again a wave of horrible grief and anguish hit her hard._

_It took all her power not to let another tear fall from her eyes. She didn't even know who had died, who's grave she was standing in front of, but…she felt her gut churn, a scary thought forming in her head…she squashed that thought. This was just a dream, this wasn't real…and she would never let it become real. _

_The 'physical' Sakura placed a flower on the grave with a sob…but Sakura noticed that she still was holding another flower. Did that mean that there was one other grave yet to visit. She had a bad feeling it did. After a while of standing in front of the grave, one Sakura started to walk, forcing the other to follow. To Sakura's surprise, they exited the graveyard._

_They walked for a long time through the rain until finally they reached the top of a hill and stopped. At the top of the hill there was only one living thing other than the grass and Sakura, and that was a young tree. Both of them walked towards the tree, then as her body forced her to stop, she watched as the other Sakura continued on to place a hand on the thin tree solemnly. Slowly she bent down and picked up a small rock, put the flower down, then placed the rock on its stem. She then backed up some and looked up into the tree's bare branches and spoke so quietly that Sakura couldn't catch everything._

"_I'm sorry…this is the best I could do…would never allow you a real grave." She turned around from the tree, and as they both began heading back down the hill, she continued, "As long as he doesn't…and…I'll always come…good bye for now…" As they left, an even stronger wave of sadness smacked her in the face, and once again she had to smother the dreadful thoughts that wanted to come to mind._

_They returned to the graveyard, and soon they were standing in front of the same grave as before. Once again she spoke quietly, "I'm sorry…" Sakura shivered as dread worked its way into her heart. She hadn't caught the name, but it had been three syllables. The 'physical' Sakura was still speaking, "…had to visit…while I was alone." _

_More dread and pain erupted in Sakura's heart…there had been another three syllable name she had missed. Sakura quickly handcuffed her emotions before they ran away from her. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't scream, she wouldn't worry…none of this would happen, none of this was real…it was just a dream…just a…_

_As Sakura had been fighting her emotions, someone had come up behind her. She didn't notice, however, until he walked through her. Sakura's eyes widened as she watched him put an arm around the other Sakura's shaking shoulders. She tried to shrug him off, he didn't let her. He said something Sakura didn't catch, but that the other Sakura obviously did._

_She stiffened, then in an instant her hand swung up and tried to slap Sasuke, but he easily caught her wrist. She pulled away from him, out of his grasp, her face livid and her voice loud, "How do you propose to do that? And do you really think that would make me happy? Do you think I'd want what's left of my father's side of the family to be wiped out? If you do, you're stupider than Na-Naruto ever was! I don't want revenge! Revenge is never the answer…" her voice faded down to a whisper as she glanced back towards the hill, "…never…"_

_Sakura's heart was beating fast, fear flowing through her veins. She didn't like where this was going…what this was pointing to…it sounded too much like…like… NO! This was just a DREAM! Even if it __was__ a possible future, and she really hoped it wasn't, she would never let this become reality. This was a dream, and she'd make sure that this dream died. It would-…the dream faded to darkness…Sakura was relieved, though not for long._

_There were the four dots of light in the darkness once again, but this time their placement was different. One of the red lights was with the dull orange light while both the slightly dull blue light and the other red light were in separate places. To her surprise, both the blue and the orange lights stated to dull as the lone red light approached the blue light. It arrived, and soon both it and the dull blue light were heading back the way the red light had come. Meanwhile, the orange was still dulling._

_As the red and blue light continued moving, the blue light's color began to improve. When it was back to not being too dull, both it and the red suddenly stopped. The blue tried to go back , but the red got in its way. As this continued, the orange light never ceased to lose more and more of its sheen. _

_After a while, the red and blue continued together the way they had been going before the blue had tried to change directions. The blue's light steadily increased…the orange's light drastically dimmed. The red and blue lights were stopping just as…the orange light flickered…and vanished._

_The red light that had been with the orange light moved, and started heading in the direction of where the blue light had originally been. Suddenly it stopped and changed directions. Its speed increased as it sped towards the blue and red lights. After a while, the red light caught up with the other two lights, and soon the two red lights were moving all around. _

_The blue, however, never moved…that is until a grey light appeared, apparently out of no where, and moved along with the blue light the way it and the red light had been traveling. The red lights continued to battle, their light dimming more and more as time went on, though one more than the others. By this point, Sakura had lost track of which red light was which, but she had a bad feeling that…_

_Suddenly one of the red light's light was flickering. Sakura screamed and tried to close her eyes, tried to block out the picture…she didn't want to see this…she didn't want this to happen…she didn't want to know…But it didn't work. The light flickered, flickered again, and…just as she knew it would go out, thousands upon thousands of cracks covered the picture, making her unable to distinguish anything. The sound was deafening…_

…_yet she could have sworn that she heard familiar voices speaking to each other as two eyes appeared on top of the cracks. "There, you've gone and seen her. She's perfectly fine, no permanent damage. It's holding strong. Now can we leave?"_

_A different voice spoke, "Sure. I suppose we shouldn't have visited her dreams again so soon, but I was worried…I still am, but I guess she's fine…for now…"_

_She momentarily forgot about the voices, though, when she recognized the eyes. They were Sharingan…and they were fading, dulling…disappearing. Sakura felt her heart racing…or was it breaking…as she screamed, "Itachi!"_

* * *

Itachi sat beside Sakura, patting her fevered face with a wet towel. She had been asleep for a while now, and luckily her fever was going down, but he was still worried about her. She had been whimpering in her sleep, and he had the feeling that she was having bad dreams similar to those she had had back when he was young.

He was about to get up and change the wet towel on her head for a new cold one, but just then she gasped and shot up, biting back a scream…even so, he knew she had been about to call his name. He would have smiled, but just then she turned to him and he noticed her eyes were full of tears. She looked like she might do something drastic at any moment despite the fact that she was injured and sick.

Itachi gently hugged her to him. He would keep her safe, even from her dreams. She flung her arms around him and held on tightly, her whole body shaking. But she didn't make a sound. She just held onto him like he could disappear at any moment and let her tears silently fall. All he could do was hold her in return and try to calm her down. But he knew calming her down would not be an easy feat, and he hated it.

He hated to see her cry, not just because it meant she was sad or scared, but because it made him feel helpless.

* * *

There, I hope you didn't get too confused. I'll tell you right now that these dreams will be an **important **factor in a big vote that will be happening soon enough. I can't tell you more than that yet, though.

People can't seem to decide if they like Li or not...it's kind of funny. There is a link to my DeviantART account on my profile.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum), Flamers, however, will be banished into the dead zone. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: .assassinator, aznkitty180, LadySakuraForest, Hao'sAnjul (that will be in the next chapter), Mitsuko Konno, 10tealeaf, Frozen Fire, Quiet Moon (It's ok), Animeprincess514, Ashi-Ikari (patience is a virtue), akatsuki's hikari, krazykoreangurl, Emumoon, xokatherine229, Defiant-Crayon, SpeedDemon315, Goatis (thank you), & Spirit Seer (thank you, and I agree that 'kindness shouldn't be taken as an act of weakness') for reviewing!


	43. Sakura vs Deidara, Again!

Disclaimer: …oh, sorry, what brain?

**Chapter 43: Sakura vs. Deidara, Again!**

When Itachi was sure Sakura had fallen asleep, he gently pried her hands loose from his cloak and laid her back down on the bed, pulling the covers over her. His hand brushed back her bangs from her warm forehead. After a moment, he removed his hand and got up to get a new washrag. He placed it on her brow, then let his hand smooth down her hair. He was about to bend down and kiss her when a knock sounded at the door. He instantly straightened.

The door opened and Deidara took one step into the room, "I'm supposed to take care of her, Yeah. Master wants to talk to you in the debriefing room, Yeah." Itachi stood, hiding his irritation, and walked out of the room without a word. He knew from experience that if you didn't want anyone to find out your true emotions, you should say as little as possible. Your voice and your eyes could reveal more than muscle movement ever could.

He knocked on the door, then entered when a voice from inside bid him to. He moved to stand in front of the strawberry blonde haired man, who was sitting in a chair. He had never seen the man before, but he knew who he was. He was their Master and Sakura's father…but he looked more like Pein than Sakura. The man spoke.

"You may sit down, Itachi." He indicated a chair in front of himself. Itachi did so as Master continued, "I felt that I should speak to you…concerning my little Sakura." Master gave a disconcerting smile, "You are…dating…her, are you not?" Itachi 'hn'ed' and nodded slightly. That smile was giving Itachi the feeling that Sakura's father might not like him liking his daughter. If that was the case, then there could be some…problems.

Master's smile became even more unsettling as he seemingly read Itachi's mind, "You needn't worry. I'm not the kind of man to say who my daughter can and can not love. That's up to her…however, that doesn't mean I won't give my opinion to her…or you." Itachi 'hn'ed'. For some reason, the bad feeling from before didn't lesson. If anything, it grew.

"I don't mind you two seeing each other, but let me give you a warning." Master leaned forward, that smile still on his face, "If you ever do anything bad to her…you will have to deal with **me**_…and I assure you it would make what happened to Deidara look like child's play._" After a moment spent regathering his nerves, Itachi 'hn'ed' without showing his emotions. This man's presence could be very unnerving, but he wouldn't let _him _see that.

The man leaned back in his chair, still smiling that smile that gave an impression of giving away emotion, but only what he wanted to give away. After a moment, it hit Itachi that he was similar to Sakura in that way. She often tried to mask her real emotions with false emotions, though she wasn't as good at it as her father was, since her real emotions could still be read by a careful eye. He, on the other hand, had discarded the idea of showing needless emotion altogether.

The silence was finally broken when Master chuckled, "You don't talk very much, do you? Or is it just to me?" He answered with the universal 'hn'.

* * *

_Sakura dreamt. At first she was merely replaying that day's events, which reminded her of her anger at not being told about that stupid door. But as the memory-dream progressed, Sakura came to the conclusion that her anger wasn't just about being refused. If it had been, she never would have been this angry. As it was, though, she was that angry, and she had a feeling that she may know why. She was angry not just because he wouldn't tell her, but because she could tell that he was hiding something from her. And for some reason, she got the feeling that that something was important, very important._

_Just then the memory-dream faded, allowing another dream to take its place. However, this dream didn't make her anger dissipate; in fact, it did the opposite. She didn't know where the dream started off, but she knew she was somewhere in the Akatsuki's layer…and that she was heading towards that despicable door. She watched, helpless, as she hurried, following the pathways she was sure she had memorized. She felt the odd sensation that she always felt as she neared the door and then tried to open it. Then, just as she felt the door begin to open…the dream ended._

Sakura woke up accompanied by a burst of anger. She looked around as she sat up, but the room was empty, Itachi had left. She wasn't sure whether she should be happy or sad about that. She wanted to be with him, but not only did she not want him to have to deal with her when she was this agitated, but she also didn't want him to see that her father's words about 'evil' were still bothering her.

To take her mind off of that, Sakura decided to see to her wounds. That turned out to be easy, her Chakra had returned to full power, and soon she was once again looking for something to keep her mind off of all her emotions, so she decided to check on her fever. It was all but gone, and she felt healthy enough to get up, so she did. She changed clothes, then began to pace around the room, but she couldn't escape her agitation or her worries for long.

She must have made some noise, because there came a knock at her door and Deidara's voiced asked, "Are you up, Yeah?" A thought hit Sakura. She smirked, then went to open the door rather than answer Deidara verbally. Even though it was only for a moment, when Deidara saw her smirk, she could have sworn he blanched.

"Deidara, take me to the training room, please."

As expected, he tried to dissuade her, "I don't think you should, you're sick, Yeah."

"I'm _fine._" Sakura said as she took a step forward and noticed how he almost took a step back. "Now, I would like to train." he opened his mouth to argue, but she didn't let him get a word out. "Deidara," she smiled, he gulped, "I'm not in the best of moods right now, if you couldn't tell, and I would like to work off some of this anger. So either you will take me to the training room, or I will find it on my own. I am going, with or without your, or anybody else's, permission."

Deidara grudgingly agreed to take her, but as he led her, Sakura could hear him muttering under his breath. Sakura smirked, her plan was working, he was getting angry. Deidara didn't have the best grip on his emotions, so it shouldn't take too much to get him to snap and challenge her to a battle. She wanted to get her mind off things, and she knew that a sparring match would be the best thing for that.

As for why she didn't simply ask him to fight her, it was simple. If she did, then he wouldn't be blinded by anger and he would remember that she was recovering from being sick, and thus he would go easy on her. There was also the possibility that he would be afraid to do anything to his Master's daughter, now that they both knew that was who she was. However, she knew from previous experience that when Deidara got angry, all logical thoughts went out the window.

It was for a similar reason that she hadn't asked him to get Itachi so that she could spar with him. She knew that Itachi wouldn't fight her so soon after she had been bedridden. At best, he would have said no right away and left…and at worst, he would have knocked her out before she could do anything.

But she could make Deidara become her sparring partner without him even knowing that that was what she had wanted all along. Sakura smirked again, but this time Deidara saw. She could feel his anger building up. Good. She was leading him to believe that this upcoming battle was all his choice to begin with. As they entered the training room, Sakura couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping her. Wow, her mood was already improving.

Even though the giggle had been an accident, it had been the final straw for Deidara. He punched her, catching her off guard. Sakura stumbled, though she quickly regained her footing, but to her surprise, Deidara didn't attack her again. He seemed to be in a mental battle, trying not to get into a fight with her, probably so he wouldn't get in trouble latter. That wouldn't do, she'd have to add wood to the fire, then, "What was that? It was too weak to be a punch, whatever it was."

That apparently was enough to end his mental struggle…maybe he had been angry before this and needed to do something about it too…because egging him on seemed to work a little too well. Once again a fight broke out starting with a bang. Sakura dodged, kicking him in the process. The next thing she knew, explosions were happening all over the place, leaving Sakura no time to do anything other than dodge. Her plan had really worked well…maybe too well. Oh well, time to vent.

* * *

Sakura threw a kunai past the bombs to the bomber, who wasn't expecting her to be armed. '_Thank you, Ayaka, for supplying me with weapons._' It hit its mark, momentarily distracting him from throwing more bombs, and that was all the time Sakura needed to get up close for a punch. She sent him flying until he hit a tree. He easily recovered and moved up into the trees. '_Oops…I forgot…trees and Deidara don't go well together for me._'

Deidara moved deeper into the trees and Sakura followed, trying not to lose him in the foliage. She knew that if she did- A bomb blew up, forcing Sakura to dodge both the explosion and the falling tree limbs. When she was safe from falling debris, Sakura looked up to find that Deidara was missing- she would never know where the attack was going to come from. At least, that's how it would have been if she had been the same as the last time they had fought. Sakura smirked, too bad there was something Deidara didn't know.

She knew she could use her Hoshi Eyes to read his movements like before, but then this match would be over too quickly. Sakura looked around and found the signs she was looking for. Thanks to Itachi, she now could track him even without her Chakra. They had sparred together often (though she still had yet to beat him), and one time she had told him about the problems the trees had caused her in her fight with Deidara, and so he had taught her a way around that problem.

Sakura took out a kunai and threw it at Deidara as she caught up with him. He grabbed the kunai between two fingers and flicked it back at her. Sakura caught it by the handle, but didn't throw it again. If she did, it would have just become a game of catch the Kunai. Entertaining, but not a very good way to vent.

Sakura jumped up and slashed at him with her kunai, he jumped back. She bounced off the tree limb he had evacuated to get the thrust necessary to kick him to the ground. Sakura landed and waited for him to start to get up before she kicked him again. She wanted to get him back into the clearing. Just because she could now track him, didn't mean she wanted to waste her time doing so.

They were almost to the clearing when Deidara finally got a hit on her. As she stumbled back, he slashed at her with the kunai in his other hand, opening a wound on her left arm. Sakura ignored it as she jumped back to avoid his bomb. She didn't wait for the dust to settle, she charged in, kunai at the ready, so as not to let Deidara escape. Just as the dust was beginning to settle, her kunai hit something that went up in a puff of smoke.

When she could see clearly, there were five Deidaras. '_Great…and I thought one Deidara was enough of a headache._' Sakura sped forward, her kunai slicing through the three clones closest to her. By then, the real Deidara must have gotten behind her, because something hurt her head. Sakura swiveled, throwing a shuriken from one hand and keeping her kunai raised defensively in the other. Deidara evaded the shuriken, though just barely, and disappeared into the trees along with his clone.

Sakura felt blood welling from the back of her head. Her hand reached up, glowing green, as she both assessed the wound and stopped the bleeding. His kunai had merely grazed her, she'd be fine. Sakura lowered her hand slowly as she calculated the situation. Deidara had disappeared again, and now she had two choices as to what she could do about it. She could track him down again, or she could wait.

If she tried to track him down, there was a high possibility that he would set up a trap for her to walk into. On the other hand, she would be assured to find him. If she waited, preferably out in the clearing, she would be an easy target and he may not come out of the trees. On the other hand, though, she would have a good view of all the area near her, she could see any attacks before they got to her, and he would have a very hard time setting a trap for her if she didn't leave her spot.

Sakura made her decision and started walking towards the clearing slowly. If he didn't attack her before she reached the center of the clearing, then she would stay there and wait for him to lose his patience, as he was sure to do. If he did attack her, then she would attack him back. However, he didn't attack her, and she made it to her destination without problem.

As Sakura stood there, waiting, she briefly looked up at the sun that was hiding behind the clouds before moving her eyes to look at her surroundings. She wondered how long she had slept. Over twelve hours, at least, since the meteor shower, judging by the sun's position. She hadn't thought to see what time it was when she'd woken up the first time, she'd been too busy hugging Itachi and trying not to cry. And she hadn't thought about it the second time she'd woken up either, but that time it was because she was angry and didn't even think to look.

Sakura continued to scan the area, but nothing was happening yet. Hm, what else could she think about? Oh, yeah, she still had to get some time alone with Ayaka to tell her what she'd found out about her mother and their story. Should she include Tobi in that? Maybe, but she also wanted to talk to Ayaka about things other than that…and that was more of a chat between friends than a friend and her little brother…so probably not.

Sakura's eyes momentarily looked at the sun glaring in through the skylights, thinking about how she was feeling happier already. She quickly looked away so as not to hurt her eyes. Just then movement registered in her peripheral vision. Of course he'd choose the moment she looked into the sun to attack. Sakura swung around, about ready to let her kunai fly at Deidara, when she noticed that there was a glow around him. She instantly knew that he was the clone. She didn't have time to wonder when she'd activated her Eyes; she knew it was a diversion.

Sakura turned just in time to block his punch. She tried to strike him with her kunai, but he evaded it as he kicked her. Sakura let herself roll backwards rather than take the full force standing still. This diffused the force of the kick so that she could quickly return to her feet and counter attack, as she did. First she punched him in the face, and then she swung around and smacked him in the lower gut.

To her surprise, he crumpled. Was he trying to trick her? She'd hit low, but not _that _low. It was when he still didn't get up, that she noticed that his clone had gone up in a puff of smoke without her help. She advanced carefully, looking out for any sneak attack, and poked him with her foot. She jumped back a step as his hand swatted at her, but he soon retracted it and continued to be curled up on the ground in apparent pain.

He wasn't faking it. She could now see that his face was contorted with pain…and maybe a little humiliation too…and he was sweating more than their sparring match alone could account for. Sakura lowered her defense since he was no longer a threat as she wondered what was wrong. Why had he gone down all of a sudden? Was he sick? He'd taken harder hits than that before and he'd been fine, so why-

The reason dawned on Sakura…and she must have been in a much better mood, because she couldn't stop herself, though she tried…she really did…

* * *

Itachi stood behind Sakura, who was oblivious to his presence as she looked down on Deidara, her shoulders shaking. He'd been angry when he'd noticed that instead of resting, she'd gone to the training room. As a medic, she should have known better. Then, when he'd seen her and Deidara fighting from outside the room, he'd been ready to kill Deidara. He'd just opened the door when he'd seen Sakura strike Deidara, and Deidara fell to the ground like a rock.

He'd begun to stride forward as she stared at the fallen 'artist', watching with amusement as she poked him with her foot. He was almost to her, ready to berate her for getting into a fight when she should be in bed, but then he saw her shoulders shaking. He'd thought that maybe she was about to cry, as she was opt to do for reasons that were beyond him. He'd taken a step closer, ready to put Deidara out of his misery for making her cry, but then he heard her…start laughing…he hadn't heard her laugh in a long while.

She continued to laugh as she bent down beside Deidara, still unaware that he was behind her. She ignored how he tried to swat her away again as she said between laughs, "Sorry…I think I may have broken your pelvic bone…I wasn't trying too, though…I swear I wasn't. It's just that it has this one weak point…and I think I hit it on accident!" Deidara kept trying to get her away from him, swatting at her glowing hand every time it neared him.

Her laughter ceased in an instant as she lightly whacked him on the head with the palm of one hand. "Stop moving around so much, you'll only make it worse." Well, she was a medic… As Itachi watched Sakura forcefully heal Deidara, his anger at her dissipated and he let a small smile spread across his face.

She _was _a medic…even if she sometimes doesn't listen to her own advice. Well, at least she was smiling again.

* * *

There, they got into a fight again. Will Itachi be angry at Deidara or not? I know, but do you?

I figured I should let you know that I won't be updating on August 16th because I will be on vacation with my dad. Then, by next Saturday, I will have started school again, so we'll see what happens.

Oh, and there's a hint in my forum about the door!

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum and my DeviantART account) to help cook cyber-cookies, and of course eat them too, but flamers tend to burn things, so I think it would be best to exclude them. Well, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Goatis (Sakura can not control her dreams more than what she is already doing, because that is an aspect of dreams. You can cause them by thinking of something, but once they are happening, they are the ones in control, not you. As to the voices, it wasn't the twins), madjane, xoBreathe, Quiet Moon, xokatherine229, akatsuki's hikari, KurenaiBara-chan (yes, and you're supposed to be confused), Ashi-Ikari, anom, LadySakuraForest, Silent Sinner Abella, SpeedDemon315, Crimson Marionette, aznkitty180, Hao'sAnjul, Mei fa-chan, .assassinator, sendo-tenshi,  (thank you), Animeprincess514, I-Love-Akatsuki, & xXFallenItachiXx for reviewing!


	44. Telling

Disclaimer: Look up the word 'own'. I assure you, it will not say my name.

**Chapter 44: Telling**

Sakura sighed as Itachi put her on her bed. After healing Deidara, she had become lightheaded, probably because she was still recovering from being sick. She'd barely had time to notice Itachi had been watching her (though for how long, she didn't know) before he'd noticed she was slightly off balance and decided to pick her up and take her back to her room. She had tried to get him to put her down, but needless to say it hadn't worked…it never did

The part that really bothered her, though, wasn't that he'd taken her health into his own hands, but that he'd remained silent since he'd picked her up. Normally he'd at least say 'hn', but this time he was completely silent. That worried her, "Itachi?" he looked at her, "What is it?" There came a momentary pause, and then finally his signature 'hn'. "That's not an answer." Sakura sighed, then caught her breath as a thought hit her. Could he be angry at Deidara for fighting with her? Was that why he was being so quiet?

If it was, then she'd better say something before he decided to kill Deidara, "Don't be angry at Deidara. The fight was my fault." Itachi raised an eyebrow; did he not believe her? "Really, it was. I asked him to take me to the training room, and then I got him angry. We started sparring, which was what I wanted, because, well, because I have a lot on my mind, and…please don't be angry at Deidara. It really is my fault that we started fi-"

Itachi cut off her rant with a kiss. He pulled away, noticing she'd gone from worried to confused. He then patted her gently on the head. "I'll let it pass this time…on one condition," He kissed her again, "keep smiling."

Sakura grinned from ear to ear, her face beet red, as she hugged Itachi, "Thank you." She pulled back, crossing her arms as she said seriously, "But really, it _was _my fault."

Itachi gave one of his rare small smiled, "Sure it was. Deidara threw the first punch, didn't he." It wasn't really a question, he already knew the answer.

"Well, yeah, but…he wouldn't have if I hadn't made him angry."

Itachi shook his head, "That's a poor excuse for him to start a fight with you. Everything makes him angry, Sakura, he needs to learn how to deal with it without blowing up." Sakura giggled at his choice of words. Just then, a gurgle issued through the room. Sakura blushed and Itachi gave a small chuckle. "Well, I suppose I should get some food for you."

Sakura smiled, still blushing, "Thanks, Itachi…" she paused as a thought came to her, "Um, do you think you could ask Ayaka to come here when she has the chance?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, so Sakura quickly said, trying to explain without giving details, "I just wanted to talk to her. You know…ah…girl talk, and, um…" Sakura cut herself off as she noticed that Itachi was smirking at her. "What?"

"You don't need a reason to convince me to let you talk to your friend, Sakura. I'm not Deidara." Itachi kissed her on the forehead before turning around and leaving the room.

It was Ayaka who later came to visit, bringing the food with her. Sakura's stomach growled at the sight of the food, and both girls laughed. Ayaka waited for Sakura to finish eating before she asked, "I'm glad you're better. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Sakura pushed her food tray aside, her face becoming serious, "During the meteor shower I used my Kekkei Genkai, don't ask me how, even I don't know, and…" she paused, tying to find the right words, "I ended up Seeing this…_place_…if you could even call it that. I was told it was called the Great Knowing by Silver, this light-like thingy…but that's not what's important." Sakura took a breath, "In the Great Knowing, I was told by Silver about your past."

* * *

"And that's what happened, according to Silver." finished Sakura. "Are you ok, Ayaka?"

Ayaka was staring at her hands that were clenched, laying on her lap. She slowly nodded, "I'll be fine…I'm just…shocked. It's one thing to suspect your mother's dead, but it's completely different when you find out not only that she's died, but _how _she died." She shook her head, as if to dislodge the thought, then gave a weak smile, "I'm fine now; not perfect, but fine."

"Are you going to tell Tobi?" Ayaka looked at her confusedly, so she tried to explain, "I mean, do you think he should know the truth? After all, he is a little…emotional. Do you think he'd be able to stand knowing the fact that his mother, and your family, died partially because of him?"

Ayaka thought for a long while, until finally she shook her head, "No…you're right…he'd blame himself for it. He's not ready to know…maybe some day, but not now, not yet." Ayaka sighed sadly, then looked at Sakura, "Thanks for telling me, Lady Haruno…and thank you for warning me. I probably wouldn't have thought about my little brother's emotional reaction until it was too late." She gave yet another half smile as she said, "You truly are an amazing person to serve, Lady Haruno."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She asked, hoping she'd somehow misheard, "Serve?"

"Of course!" Ayaka said, looking surprised that she was shocked. When Sakura continued to be shocked, however, she said, "I suppose since you've been asleep, you wouldn't have had much time to think about it…but Lady Haruno, you are Master's _daughter_! As we serve him, we serve you." As Sakura stared at her in utter shock and horror Ayaka decided to add, thinking that she was still confused, "You are Master's only heir, so it would make sense that we serve you dedicatedly, with only his orders coming before your own. You are like our princess, Lady Haruno."

Sakura's hands clenched the covers on her bed as she said, trying to hide the desperateness from her voice, "You don't need to _serve _me! I'm no princess!" Ayaka opened her mouth to argue, but Sakura didn't give her the chance, "Please!" Sakura couldn't stop herself from pleading as tears filled her eyes, "I thought we were friends!" She didn't want to lose the best friend she had here. That thought terrified her.

To her surprise, Ayaka hugged her, rocking back and forth like she was trying to calm a scared child. "It's ok, Lady Haruno, it's ok. I can be both your friend and your servant. There's nothing wrong with that." Ayaka released Sakura, letting her wipe her watering eyes as she said, "In fact, that's what master Konan suggested…" She then tried to get Sakura to smile as she added, "…though she didn't suggest that until after she gave me a tongue lashing about prying ears. Really, you'd think she thought I was a spy!"

Sakura gave a strangled giggle, "You? Spy? Never!"

Ayaka nodded her head over exuberantly, crossing her arms over her chest, "Exactly! I mean, just because I gather information from time to time doesn't make me a spy!" After a moment, both of them started giggling at the joke.

When they settled down, Sakura was about to wipe a tear of laughter from her eye, when she remembered something. "Ayaka?" Ayaka looked at her questioningly, "Do you mind if I ask you why earlier, when I met my father, you suddenly started acting like you were scared or something?"

"Of course you may ask, Lady Haruno." She paused as if gathering her thoughts, "Part of it _was _fear…fear of Master and having been caught…but another part of it was a mix between surprise and something similar to fear. You see, when Master turned to look at me, and he spoke those words, his eyes weren't blue like normal. They were ringed, like Leader's, only they were different colors." Ayaka gave a fake laugh, "Well, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, from what I heard, Master and Leader are brothers."

"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed, "So you're saying that red haired jerk is my uncle?"

Ayaka shrugged, "I'm not one hundred percent sure, because what I happened to overhear…well, there weren't any names named, and I've never been told outright that they're brothers, but… I just put two and two together and came up with the most likely answer; though I _could _be wrong, it's not likely."

Sakura let herself fall back against the bed as she said, "Great! Just great! My uncle's a jerk and the Leader of the Akatsuki. And as if that wasn't bad enough, my father, who I thought was dead, not only wasn't dead, but it turns out that he was busy founding the Akatsuki while he was missing too!"

Sakura sat up again as she continued, "And as if _that _wasn't enough for me to get angry over, my father just had to go and add more on my plate by saying weird things and refusing to tell me what I wanted to know! And-" Sakura cut herself off, she knew she was starting to rant.

Ayaka asked curiously, "What were the weird things he said, and what wouldn't he tell you?"

"Well," Sakura began, trying to find the words, "he was talking about good and evil…he said that they don't really exist." Sakura made a face, "That they were just different perceptions. But how can there not be a good and evil. I mean, I understand that things don't have to be completely one or the other, but to say they don't exist at all? It just doesn't make sense. But what makes even less sense is how…"

Sakura trailed off, putting a hand to her head. After a moment, she looked at Ayaka, "Before I say any more, promise me three things. One, that you won't laugh, two, that you won't be angry, and three, that you won't tell anyone."

"I promise. Now, go on, Lady Haruno."

Sakura lowered her hand to her lap, palm up, and stared at it as she spoke, "It's how it made me dig up the questions and thoughts I'd thought I had already buried." Sakura paused, watching as she curled her fingers to cover her palm with the least tension possible. "But apparently I hadn't…" Her hand tightened into a fist. After a couple moments, her fist returned to being an open palm. Her hand was shaking.

"His words, they made me remember how confused I'd been about loving Itachi…they brought all that pain back to me." Sakura couldn't stop herself from sighing; she then looked at Ayaka for the first time, and said, going for a lighter atmosphere, "I guess that's just my luck." Sakura smiled, but she knew it didn't reach her eyes.

Sakura turned her eyes to the floor as she wrapped her arms around her legs, drawing them closer to her, "Before, it was just Itachi, since I didn't know anyone else, but now things are even worse. I've become friends with you, and Tobi…and in a way I've somehow befriended Deidara as well. There's also Yuri…I'd almost say that she acts like a mother figure to me…but then I remember that my real mother isn't someone I'd want anyone to act like. And then there's my father…"

Sakura closed her eyes, "I can't begin to explain what it's like to lose, gain, and then, in a sense, lose him again." Sakura paused, then continued, trying to keep unnecessary emotion from her voice, "And that brings me to the subject of what brought on this whole mess. Li is my father…and he's been nice to me during the little time we've had together, but…he's the founder of the Akatsuki. Knowing now what I do, I know that he's done horrible deeds…like killing his own comrades the day he deserted the Leaf village."

Sakura's arms tightened around her knees, "He's the enemy of my village, but he's also my father…Itachi killed both his clan and mine, but I love him…you and the others are a part of the Akatsuki, but you're my friends…" Sakura paused, wondering if she should say the last part. Finally she decided to trust that Ayaka would keep her promise, though she still kept her voice low as she said, "…and Sasuke abandoned our village, tried to cut off our ties of friendship, and continues to seek useless revenge, but…I still want to save him!"

Sakura buried her face against her knees as she felt tears welling in her eyes. She knew Ayaka would be worried and would try to comfort her if she didn't say anything, so she spoke quietly, "I still care about him…I care about all of you…but common sense tells me I shouldn't. My mind is yelling at me, telling me that you are my enemies…but my heart is telling me to disregard what my mind is shouting and listen to it instead. But I don't know! Which is right? Which is wrong? How am I supposed to tell when I can't even think straight thanks to all the commotion going on in my head?"

* * *

It took a while, but Ayaka eventually calmed Sakura down. They talked for a while about how maybe the truth was a mixture of both her idea and Master's idea. Sakura had just begun to smile when she decided to change the topic, "What was it that Master didn't tell you?" she then cursed herself as Sakura's mood noticeably declined. To her surprise, however, Sakura answered.

"The door." Ayaka was confused for a moment, then she remembered what Sakura had told her about her reoccurring dream. Sakura continued, "I asked him what was behind that door, but he wouldn't tell me. In fact, he kind of danced around the subject. He only gave me a weak reply not even worthy of being called an answer. It was something like that it wouldn't be good for me to know. But it was obvious that he was hiding something from me…and not just the real answer."

Ayaka nodded slowly, '_Master's lack of a proper answer sounds fishy even to me. But what-_' her thoughts were cut off as Sakura spoke.

"I know that there's something behind that door…and not just because it's been haunting my dreams. It's not even just because of how everyone who knows what's behind the door won't tell me. It's…hard to explain…hard to understand. Maybe it's my gut instinct…or maybe it's woman's intuition…or _maybe _it's some Kekkei Genkai ability that I don't know about, but…something tells me that despite what the others say, I need to know what's behind that door…it's telling me that it's very important."

Silence filled the room as both girls became lost in thought. It stayed that way until a knock sounded at the door. Both girls looked at the door as it opened, showing Tobi, and behind him, three pink heads. Tobi spoke, "Tobi thought Lady Sakura would like to see her cousins."

Sakura smiled and welcomed them in as Ayaka stood up, taking the empty food tray with her. When Sakura looked at her questioningly she said, "I've taken up enough of your time. Your cousins have been worried about you." She then walked past her brother and out the door before Sakura could think to argue. As she walked down the hallway, she argued with herself over what to do.

Master had told Sakura that it wouldn't be good for her to see what was behind the door. But Sakura said that she felt that the opposite was true. Masters orders were supposed to always come first…but the more she thought about it, the more it stood out to her that he had never ordered Sakura not to find out for herself what was behind the door, he'd merely warned her against it. And he had never given Ayaka any orders at all concerning the door.

'_I suppose I do owe Lady Haruno…or should I call her Lady Hachino, since that's her fathers last name…I'll have to ask her about that later. But anyways, I owe her for all the trouble she went through trying to find out about our past…_' for a moment, her thoughts jumped track, '_Should I go back and-no, it's better not to tell her yet…not until I actually have something __to__ tell her._'

She continued to walk down the hall confidently. '_I'll wait until then…I wouldn't want to disappoint her if I failed to gather this info...no, I'll wait, but failure isn't an option._'

* * *

There…horrible cliffy, I know. But hey, the answer to the door riddle is getting close. Also, I'm sorry for the wait, but school's back in now. I'll try to update next Saturday (Aug 30), but if school get's in the way, I might not...but I'll try.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum (as well as my DeviantART account) shall be visited by the tooth fairy despite not having lost a tooth…flamers will just get cavities. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: 10tealeaf, aznkitty180, Animeprincess514, SpeedDemon315, KurenaiBara-chan, Quiet Moon, xokatherine229, Butterfly-chan (1: I'm not sure yet, 2: it will be more than a few chapters, but I'm not planning on another separate story), Ashi-Ikari, akatsuki's hikari, .assassinator, Ilse Mantague (first off, it was her father, not Pein. Second, in the chapter with the small time skip, Sakura thinks about how, after her battle with Deidara/having found Deidara's cell, the limitations on her Kekkei Genaki lessened some (it's hinted that it's because of somthing that Junko wrote to Master/Li). Third, Sakura didn't even need Chakra to break Deidara's pelvic bone (if that's what you were thinking). It is something that can be done by anyone who's remotely strong and hits the opponent in the proper place with the proper force), cherryredblossom, cosmic imaginer, Hao'sAnjul, LadySakuraForest, krazykoreangurl, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, rinnyzito, & I-Love-Akatsuki for reviewing!


	45. The Book

Disclaimer: If looking up the word 'own' wasn't enough to convince you, try looking up my name. I assure you, it won't point to it either.

**Chapter 45: The Book**

Li neared the lone door, ignoring the feeling of the barrier's brief deactivation. Hiraku opened the door and let him walk in before he followed suit. Hiraku walked through the wind and sat down by his sister as he said, "Yo, I'll take over for a while, sis." He immediately entered his Kekkei Genkai, allowing his sister to deactivate hers.

Michi stood up, "Master Hachino," and bowed to Li, "for what reason have you come to visit us, if I may ask?"

Li smiled at her, "I'm going to check up on my many connections…and this is the only room here that comes anywhere near close enough to the power I need. But of course, you already knew that."

Michi bobbed her head once, "This room was originally made for you, but resonates better with our ability than yours. That is the reason why Hiraku was forced to make a second room, one that would resonate with you."

"Yes, it's just too bad that they couldn't have both been in the same building."

"Yes, well, unfortunately a large amount of space needed to be between the two, so that they wouldn't interfere with each other." Michi looked at her brother as she said to Li, "He's trying to find a way to minimize that distance, but so far he doesn't seem to be having any luck."

Li nodded, "I see, it's good to know he's not just lazing about when I'm not around." Michi smiled in response. "Well, you should go eat, then rest, and I should do what I came here to do." Michi bowed, then left the room silently. Once the door was shut, Li briefly closed his eyes, and when they opened, they were ringed. He sank into his Kekkei Genkai as he checked on his 'connections'.

* * *

As Sakura looked at the book her cousins had brought with them, she felt surprise and confusion welling up in her. This was the book they'd been trying so hard to decode, but now…for some reason, she could read some of it relatively easily. What was going on? Sakura flipped through the pages, trying to figure out why she could suddenly read this even better than Noya could.

Then it hit her, "I think I know why I can now read this." She said to her cousins, "During the meteor shower, I visited the Knowing. I was besieged by information of all kinds…there was so much information that I don't even remember the half of it…but I bet that some time while I was there, the information that forced itself into my head was something about the Ancient language's old writing system."

Inuka bounced up and down, squealing, "It's possible! Tell us more about the Knowing! What's it like? Can you really learn anything and everything from it? How-" a hand identical to her own covered her mouth. Both Hanako and Noya sighed in unison at Inuka's over exuberance; Sakura just giggled.

"Well," Sakura began, "the Knowing does seem to hold a lot of information, however…there's no order to it whatsoever. And as if no order wasn't bad enough, the information in the Knowing acts just like a little kid. Everything in there wants to be the one thing you pay attention to…It's really not all that great a place to be. It may be able to inform you about things you would otherwise never know, but it's impossible to dictate what you learn. It's out of control."

Hanako shivered, Noya made a face, and Inuka smiled, "That's sounds like fun! OW! Don't hit me!" Inuka smacked Hanako on the head like her sister had done to her. The next thing Sakura knew, the twins were at it again. By the time Sakura and Noya had separated them, Inuka was pouting, "It's all her fault." Sakura smiled, but didn't say anything in response. She knew the best answer was no answer at all.

After that calamity was over, Sakura had the twins practice climbing walls as punishment and returned her attention to the book. She opened it to the cover page, and after a couple minutes, she knew what the 'title' of the book was: _My Journal_. However, it didn't say whose journal it was; there was no name. Curious, Sakura flipped the page. After a little while, she understood that the marking at the very top of what appeared to be separate entries were dates. After some more time, she translated the first parts of the first date, however, she couldn't figure out what the last part was referring to.

When she told Noya and Hanako (Inuka had been too busy trying not to fall to pay attention) what she'd been able to figure out, they were excited. She'd then pointed out the date to Noya, "I have figured out that this says 'the ninth day of the second season, but I don't understand this last part. I can read the numbers, but what they're referring to I have no clue."

Noya nodded as he looked at the book, "I have an idea what the words say, even though I can't read it, since this is a really old version of writing." He shook his head solemnly, then looked at Sakura, "I'd say that the final part tells you under which Pillar's rule this was written in."

"That's what I thought at first too, but…" Sakura taped the date lightly as she said, "the number's a little weird. It says thirteen, then something I'm not sure about, it may be a dash, or it may be something else, and after that there's a fourteen."

Noya put his hands together thoughtfully as he tried to come up with something. He was just about to give up when Hanako entered their conversation, looking down at the book from the ceiling. "I think it _is _referring to the Pillar, or more like…the lack of a Pillar." Noya barely stopped his eyes from bulging in surprise. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"It makes sense." he began, having regained his composure, "There's thirteen, fourteen, and then something between the two. It probably says something like 'thirteen dash fourteen' or 'between the thirteenth and fourteenth'." He looked up at Hanako as he said, "If this is true, then I suppose that means we now have the exact date of one of the missing Pillars, maybe even the _first _missing Pillar."

Hanako nodded, then specified for Sakura's understanding, "There have been a couple times in history when the Pillar dies, but there aren't any Time Walkers left to take their place. The exact date of the first few incidents, however, weren't known beyond the fact that they happened sometime within the first twenty Pillars."

Sakura asked Hanako, "But what did the Hoshis do without their Pillar? From what you've told me, it seems that would have been the end of the world to them."

It was Noya who answered, "Not the end of the world, but tragic indeed. Luckily those times usually don't last very long. Normally within a couple of years a child who hadn't awakened yet, does, and finds out that they are a Time Walker, and thus the Pillar. But until then, balance can not be restored to the Hoshi people. It's very similar to when a Kage dies without having chosen an heir. Village life and order can go on, thanks to the elders, or clan heads, or whoever's in charge until a new Kage is found, however that life and order is very…far from what it should be."

Sakura understood perfectly; after all, it had been like that when the Third died, before Tsunade was made the Fifth Hokage. "That would have been terrible…I can't even think about how hectic life would be if you had to wait even just a few years for a new leader to come forward."

"It was normally only a few years at most, but…" Sakura looked up at Hanako's quiet voice, "…but it is said that there once was a wait of around ten years." Sakura stared at Hanako. Ten years without a leader… "It is said that at that time, the Pillar had died before another Time Walker was even born."

Sakura asked the obvious question, "Then how did they survive that long without the Pillar? How did the Hoshis keep it together despite what probably looked like a lost cause to them? They couldn't have known that a Pillar would be born after five times the normal wait. Why didn't they give up hope-?" A loud thump was heard as Inuka lost her control and fell from the ceiling, luckily hitting the bed rather than the floor.

"Ow…sorry…I'll try again!" Inuka jumped off the bed and ran at the wall again. She made it about three feet, then fell on her bottom again. She got up again, and ran again, and fell again…and got up again. She continued to try to reach the ceiling, ignoring her previous failures (as well as apparently having ignored their entire conversation). She was in her own little world.

Sakura returned her attention to Noya as he ignored Inuka and answered her questions, "They got through it because…the World Walker made his first appearance." Sakura perked up, this was another World Walker story (she was getting to be just as bad as the kids). Hanako released her control, turning in mid air so that she landed on her feet before walking over to sit on the other side of Noya.

"As you know, it's debated exactly how or when the World walker appeared, but there are some facts held in common among all versions. The first is that the Pillar prophesized that the World Walker would come the day he died, though he himself didn't quite understand what a 'World Walker' was supposed to be. However, he did know that the World Walker would help those he left behind to survive until the next Time Walker awoke, though, of course, he didn't know how long that time would be."

Noya smiled as he said, "Of course, what the Pillar said happened as he'd said it would. The day the Pillar died, a young Hoshi no one had seen before entered the village. At first sight, people actually thought that he was a Time Walker from the future who was in the process of awakening, since he was so young. But then they remembered that the late Pillar had said that they shouldn't expect any awakening Time Walkers for a while yet. That was when people understood that this person was the World Walker of prophesy."

"However," Noya shook his head ruefully, "not everyone accepted it at first. The legends say that some people were against him, and tried to oppose him. The legends also says that he dealt with them thoroughly, though there are many different ideas of how they had opposed him, and how he had 'dealt with' them. Of course, that's typical of World Walker stories."

Hanako nodded, a small smile on her face, "Yes, they are very diversified. But despite all their differences, it's also surprising how some facts remain the same no matter how the story is told." She turned her smile to Sakura as she said, "For instance, another part of the legends that's always the same is that the World Walker took over the job of Pillar while helping raise the future Pillar, though people disagree as to what the exact relationship between the World Walker and the future Pillar was. Isn't that right, Noya?"

"Yes." Noya nodded, "Some of the legends say that since he was young, he was adopted by the family that would eventually give birth to the Pillar. Others say that he was actually directly related to the next Pillar; a cousin, or an uncle, or something like that. Yet others say that it was merely the relationship of a Pillar acting as the mentor for the next generation." Noya shrugged, "Who knows what the truth is? It happened too far back for anyone to See."

Suddenly Hanako gasped, grabbing Noya's arm, "It was too far back for us, but what about that?" She pointed roughly at the book on Sakura's lap with one hand. "Maybe it was written by someone who knew the World Walker! The time fits, as best we can tell, so it's possible!" She turned to Sakura, her eyes shining with hope, "We should read more of it and see what we find! We should get to work right away!"

"That's a good idea and all," said Noya in a light voice, "but first," he looked down at her hands, "could let go of my arm? You're cutting off the circulation."

Hanako jerked back, her face red, "Sorry, I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to…I was just…I'm sorry! I was-"

Noya laughed good-naturedly, "I know, the excitement got to you." he paused as Hanako continued to apologize, "Really, I'm not angry at you." There was a pause as Hanako looked at him, her face still flushed, then she looked down at her lap, her face becoming even more red as she mouthed one more apology. Noya sighed, then ruffled her hair, "It's fine, really…what are cousins for?" The room went silent.

Sakura hid a smile, it was always good to see Hanako act her age (even just slightly)…even if it did make her seem more like her sister. After a few more moments, the silence started to become awkward, so Sakura cleared her throat, her eyes on the open pages of the book, "Well then, let's see what we can find out."

* * *

At first, all that they had found was a run of the mill journal, talking about how the writer (who they found to be a female) had only just arrived in the village, having been raised elsewhere. It then talked about the people she met, the things that she did, and most importantly, the things that she learned.

To their great pleasure, she mentioned in great detail many different Jutsu that the Hoshis had mastered. It was also mentioned in the journal that many of those Jutsu could only be used along with hand gestures that would only work for awakened Hoshis. And then, to their surprise, when they'd turned the page, they'd found detailed drawings of how those hand gestures were supposed to look. Some of them were things none of them had ever seen or heard of before.

However, to Hanako's disappointment (as well as everyone else's) there was no mention within the first thirty pages of the World Walker; none whatsoever. As they said their 'goodnights', Hanako looked at the book longingly, silently praying that in the following days, as they decoded more of the book, that it would reveal facts on the World Walker. Somehow, though, as she climbed into her own bed that night, she got the feeling that her prayers wouldn't be answered.

She hadn't had much time to think on it though, as a flash of light briefly lit up their room, quickly followed by a deep booming sound. Only a second later, she felt her twin hurriedly join her in bed, pulling the covers over her head, almost smothering Hanako in the process. Hanako took one more breath of fresh air before joining Inuka under the covers as the next flash of lightning blared across the sky. It wasn't as if they were afraid of thunder _and _lightning…

…just lightning.

* * *

There, more info on the World Walker. I know there wasn't any Itachi, but he wouldn't fit in with this chapter.

I haven't had time to edit this, so there may be errors. If so, just point them out to me and I will fix them as soon a possible.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, people going to my forum, and people going to my DeviantART page are welcome to pass Go and collect their money, flamers on the other hand, must go to Jail; do not pass Go, do not collect 500. Now, on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: cherryredblossom, LadySakuraForest, krazykoreangurl, aznkitty180, xokatherine229, KurenaiBara-chan, cosmic imaginer, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, akatsuki's hikari, Ashi-Ikari, SpeedDemon315, Just Kiss Me, .assassinator, SnowWolfSpirit, Hao'sAnjul (soon enough), Ilse Montague (I didn't answer because I can't. If I did, I would ruin it not only for you, but for everyone else too), ItaDeiPei (thanks for telling me your name changed), flyingsnails, & Quiet Moon for reviewing!


	46. Breakfast with Master

Disclaimer: Can you not see the forest for the trees?

**Chapter 46: Breakfast with Master**

The next morning, after Sakura had gotten ready, she opened her door, planning to ask whoever was on duty to take her to the training room so that she could try out some of what she'd learned. However, when the door opened she didn't find her normal escorts, instead the green haired man from before was standing there, obviously waiting for her.

"Good morning, little Miss." A large grin spread across his face as he bowed to her, "I don't believe I've introduced myself, I'm-"

Sakura interrupted, "Hiraku, correct?" He blinked in confusion, wondering how she'd known, so she said in answer to his unspoken question, "I Saw you and my father back when you were Gennin. I also recognize you from the photo taken of your Gennin squad."

Hiraku straightened and smiled, "Sharp, just like your father!" Sakura glared at him, she didn't want to be 'just like her father'. He just laughed at her glare, "Well, I'll introduce myself anyway." his smile widening as he bowed again, "My name is Hiraku Shimaguchi, and I serve your father." He straightened once more, then said with that selfsame smile, "In fact, I'm here on your father's orders. He wants to eat breakfast with you…and undoubtedly talk too!"

Sakura sighed, "I suppose I have no choice…besides, I have things I still have to ask him." She looked at the still smiling Hiraku, "Would you please lead the way?"

He led her to a door just like any other door and knocked, "Li, the little Miss is here to see you now."

The door opened moments later and the two of them stepped in. As they entered, Sakura noticed that there was a large table with only two places set; beyond that there was nothing else in the room. She turned around to look at her father as he stepped away from the open door and turned to Hiraku, "Thank you for bringing her, Hiraku. Would you go arrange for the food?"

Hiraku bowed, "Of course." He turned around and left through the open door, closing it behind him, leaving Sakura alone with her father.

* * *

After a few moments of silence, Li said in what could only be called a warm, fatherly tone, "Good morning, Sakura. Did you sleep well?"

Sakura remained weary, "Well enough, thanks." She still wasn't sure what to think about her father. As she eyed him, he gave her a smile that betrayed no real emotion beyond fatherly interest.

"I'm glad, shall we sit?" Sakura eyed him carefully as they sat down. A silence overcame the room. After a couple minutes, Li cleared his throat, "While we wait for the food, we may as well talk. I have some things to tell you, but they can wait until after we've eaten; so, why don't you tell me about what you've done since I last saw you."

He had a smile on his face that said that he was truly interested to hear what she had to say. However, Sakura also got the impression that he'd already been informed of at least the basics of her day of consciousness. "After I woke up I went to the training room and sparred with Deidara." Sakura paused as she noticed the knowing glint in Li's eyes, telling her that he did indeed know of what had transpired.

Sakura mentally shrugged and continued her bland description of her day, "I accidentally broke his pelvic bone, ending the match quickly; then Itachi took me back to my room. We had a little talk, then he left and sent Ayaka to bring me food. Ayaka and I talked until Tobi brought my cousins to my room, then she left. After that, we read a book until it was time for bed. All in all, not a very exciting day." Out of all she'd said, only the last part had been an outright lie.

There was a glint in her father's eye as he said with a smile that didn't seem quite right, "Oh, yes…I'm sure the day was boring for you." Even though there had been nothing in his voice to say so, she knew that he knew that her day had been anything but unexciting. Somehow it didn't surprise her.

Sakura gave a fake smile in return for his. He wasn't the only one who could play this game, "Quite, I assure you. Now," Sakura leaned forward, "we've exhausted that subject, so how about this: I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer. Doesn't that sound nice?"

To her surprise, he chuckled, and somehow Sakura could tell that it, as well as his small smile, was real this time. "Very good, very good! You control your outward emotions excellently." He smiled warmly at her like a father praising his child (which, she supposed, he technically was), "One day you may even be as good as me!" He gave another chuckle as he looked past her smiling face and into her eyes, "Now now, don't glare at me. Your face doesn't give anything away, but you need to work on your eyes." Her eyes hardened into a real glare, sending him a message. "Fine, I knew you'd want some answers. It's not like I didn't plan to tell you anything."

Sakura continued where he left off, "Just not everything." Sakura sighed and leaned back against her chair as he nodded with a smile. "Fine, since I can't force you to tell me everything, I'll have to settle for that. But, don't you dare lie to me…and please, don't beat around the bush. I want the facts, not more queries."

The smile he gave her was once again real, though she couldn't read into it any more than that, and having it directed at her felt weird for some reason. After a few moments, he spoke in a quiet voice, "I see you've inherited more than just your looks from your mother…" after a moment, his voice returned to normal, "Very well, I'll be straight and to the point, then. Ask away."

Sakura stared at him, partly because he'd agreed to her demands, and partly because he'd said she was like her mother (she _really _didn't want to be put into the same category as Junko). It took a couple more moments for it to really sink in that he'd answer her, and then a couple more moments as she thought of what her first question would be.

Finally she said, "I can understand why you've been keeping me here, even if I don't like it; but why did you put that Jutsu on me that cut off my ability to use my Chakra? I wouldn't have tried to escape when we were outside, since it would be impossible to take my cousins with me. But it wasn't just outside, even when I was inside, I could only use my healing Chakra. And also, why did _that _suddenly change after the incident with Deidara?"

To her surprise, he only waited long enough to be sure she wasn't going to ask anything else before he answered, "It's simple enough. I subdued your Chakra completely when you were outside for two reasons. One _was _so that you wouldn't be able to run away, but the other, more important reason, was so that no one would recognize your Chakra and find you. Don't glare at me like that, little Sakura. Surely you know Konoha isn't the only one who has people who would recognize your Chakra signature. There are others out there who want you too…and could bring harm to you if they found you."

Sakura stared at him, both angry and confused. She was angry because he was hiding her from her friends. That, and he'd called her 'little'. On the other hand, she was confused because, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't come up with a person not from Konoha who would know her Chakra signature _and _would be a threat to her.

Her father, either unaware of or ignoring her confusion, continued his answer, "As to why I bound your Chakra even when you were inside…there were a couple reasons. One was the running away issue again. Another was the fact that I know you're strong, and I wouldn't want you putting any of your guards out of commission for a long period of time." Sakura barely stopped herself from staring at him. It was one thing for Itachi to call her strong, he knew her, but Li…how could he know?

"The biggest reason, though, was because I didn't want you to go snooping through time and find out certain things before I had the chance to talk to you." Sakura's hands clenched in her lap as she tried not to show her anger at his statement. He continued speaking as if he hadn't just said what he'd said, "I didn't want you to go Seeing things out of context and getting the wrong impression. Though, there were a few times when you escaped my control, even if only for a few moments."

Li paused a moment, looking as if he were thinking about something, then he continued speaking, "As to why I lessened my control, especially where your Hoshi Kekkei Genkai was concerned, it was because your mother asked it of me. Her letter, when I finally got to it, was quite severe about how I was handling things. She felt that I was interfering with your ability to learn how to properly use your Hoshi Eyes. I got quite the scolding."

He gave a small chuckle, then became quiet as Sakura stared at her hands, trying to not let her emotions be read as she entered a mental war zone. It had been her mother who had rescued her from the majority of his Jutsu, yet it obviously hadn't been enough to end his Jutsu entirely. In fact, she had the feeling that her mother had only asked for him to release her from his Jutsu only in concerns to her Eyes…so she wouldn't be showering Junko with thanks just yet. Another thing that became clear, was that the letter Junko had had Yuri deliver was for her father. It explained a lot.

As the silence continued, it became clear to Sakura that Li wouldn't be saying anything else, since he'd exhausted her previous onslaught of questions. It only took a moment more for her to remember what Ayaka had said, so she asked, "Is it true that that red haired jer-ah, that Pein guy…" Despite her control, she couldn't keep all her…dislike…of him from her voice as she ended with, "Is it true that he's my _uncle_?"

For a moment, she saw a twitch as the smile he'd been wearing almost disappeared, and though it was only for a moment, his eyes showed shock. As it was, his smile returned, but his eyes lost all emotion…his smile was a fake. There was a long wait, then finally he said, "Who told you tha…never mind, I can guess that it was Ayaka. I suppose it's good that you are collecting your own supporters."

He paused as Sakura glared at him, then began, "That…" Li paused as a knock sounded at the door. A small smile, that looked more like a smirk to Sakura's discerning eyes, appeared on Li's face as he finished, "…will have to wait." He then raised his voice, "You may enter."

* * *

Throughout the breakfast, Sakura didn't say a word, though her father tried to coax small talk out of her. When Hiraku took their plates away (after briefly talking in a whisper with Li), Sakura looked at her father without saying a word. He looked right back. Time went by, and her tension grew, until finally she stood up and slammed her hands down on the table, demanding, "Just answer the question already!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she got his message. Reluctantly she returned to her chair; It had been clear as day that he'd 'said' 'Sit down and I will'; he didn't even need to say anything for her to read his thoughts. She wasn't sure whether to be scared about this fact or not. Not needing words to speak was something that only happened in rare situations: 1) when the person was unable to keep _anything _from showing on their face, 2) when everyone's thinking the same thing anyway, and 3) when the people either are very close or very similar…and she didn't like to think that she was _either _with her father.

He leaned back in his chair, "I can't answer that quite yet. We're waiting for the person in question to arrive. Until then, why don't you ask something else. I'm sure you have plenty of more questions."

Sakura glared at him but, after a moment, complied angrily, "Fine, then how about this…Why did you fake your own death and abandon the Leaf village? Not to mention me!"

What may have been a sad smile spread across his face, "I know it was hard on you, growing up without me, but it was for your own good. I had already founded the Akatsuki long before you were born. I just had yet to cut my ties to the Leaf village. But then your mother became pregnant, and told me that, when you were born, she wanted me to take you back with me to be raised in Konoha. Knowing that, I couldn't just abandon the village. If I had just become a missing nin, then the people of Konoha would have taken it out on you."

Sakura stared at him, unsure of what to say. He saved her the need by continuing, "And I couldn't bring you with me. For one, it wouldn't be the safest growing environment for you. And for another, your mother specifically asked that you be raised in Konoha, though she wouldn't say why. I honored her wish, and left you with my half-sister in Konoha before staging my own death. If I had done it any other way, things might not have gone so well for you. I've always been thinking about you. I am your father after all."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from staring at her father. He sounded like he genuinely cared about her…but…he was still…evil, right? He was still her enemy…surely he was… If he wasn't, then what _was _he? Sakura racked her brains, but the only thing that kept coming to mind was their previous talk about evil, as well as her talk with Ayaka on that very same subject.

The stress must have shown on her face, because Li's eyes lit with worry and his arm reached out as if to comfort her. A moment before his hand reached her, however, Sakura returned to her senses, and took a step back. He lowered his hand emotionlessly, but somehow Sakura knew she'd hurt him unintentionally. She wouldn't apologize though. How could she explain things to him, when she was confused as to her feelings herself. The only thing she knew for sure was that she didn't want him to treat her like he'd always been her father, not when he hadn't…at least…not yet.

Finally Sakura found her voice, and it wasn't happy, "How can you say you've 'always been thinking about me', or call yourself my father, when you haven't even seen me since I was a baby. You don't even know me!" Li stared at her and she stared at him; she hadn't meant to yell that, but it was true none-the-less.

Sakura blinked, and in that instant her father moved, enveloping her in a hug. It took a moment for Sakura to understand what had happened, and by the time she did, her father was speaking gently to her, "I'm sorry my not being there hurt you…but you're wrong." He loosened his hold enough so that she could look up at him in surprise and confusion. "I may not know you as well as I should, but I didn't abandon you completely." He hugged her tightly once more before letting go and taking a step back.

He cleared his throat almost as if he were embarrassed about having hugged her, and then said seriously, "I looked in on you whenever I could, either by myself, or through my subordinates." He paused as he noticed Sakura's disbelieving gaze, "It's true, I've watched you grow up…even though you never knew…" He paused, then said as if rethinking that thought, "Well, you have met me once before, but you were probably too young…do you remember the time when you wandered from your aunt and got lost in the forest?"

Sakura did, though only vaguely. She had been about three or four at the time. She'd gotten lost in the forest, and then she'd fallen into a crater too steep for her to get out of. She had been there for a long time and was near faint with hunger when someone wearing a mask saved her, then disappeared. She'd always figured he'd been an ANBU…but now…could it really have been her father? It must have…how else could he have known?

Sakura opened her mouth to say something when a knock sounded at the door. Li called out that they could come in. The door opened, and Pein walked in…and behind him came someone else…

* * *

Ooooh, horrid cliffy, ain't it? Who's behind him, and why? What does her father want to talk to her about with him/them? Why all the secrets? I know, but do you? Oh, and Itachi's in the next chapter briefly. Also, if there are any errors, tell me and I will try to fix them.

Reviews, constructive criticism, and people going to my Forum/DeviantART page are welcome to celebrate my birthday (it's sometime in the month of September, though I won't tell you when)! Flamers, of course, are uninvited. Now, let's move on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Hana Natsumi Hime, Goatis (thank you very much, however, like everyone else, your questions must be left unanswered), KurenaiBara-chan, flyingsnails, Pandastacia, Ilse Montague (heh, heh, yeah...), Cster (this should have answered some of your questions), xokatherine229, Ashi-Ikari, akatsuki's hikari, krazykoreangurl, SpeedDemon315, ItaDeiPei, aznkitty180, Hao'sAnjul, Lunatea, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha (No, I haven't), Quiet Moon (I know what you mean), camya (thank you for telling me about that, though it is a bit late to change things. I did my best with my limited resources and knowledge. At the time I'd only taken two years of German, and even now, only three...I'm still pretty much a beginner. -u), & SnowWolfSpirit (don't forget she also goes to the training room and her cousins' room, both of which have windows. Also, you make me laugh...and I do think that was the longest review I've ever had) for reviewing!


	47. Straightforward But Confusing

Disclaimer: Don't make me call back the malicious fairies.

**Chapter 47: Straightforward But Confusing**

The door opened, and Pein walked in…and behind him came someone else…Tobi. As Sakura wondered silently why Tobi was there, he shut the door behind him and Pein meekly. One look was all it took for her to tell, despite his mask, that he was just as confused as her as to why he was here. Apparently Pein was too, because he asked Li roughly, jabbing a finger in Tobi's direction, "Why did you need both me and the brat?"

Li spoke in an emotionless voice, "I had something to tell my little Sakura, and I decided it would be best for you to be here to hear it too."

Pein's eyes took in Sakura for the first time, then he nodded, "I can understand why I'm here, but not him. I have never understood why you even took him in, in the first place."

Li put a fake smile on, "You will soon enough." He then turned to Sakura, who Tobi had moved to stand by, his smile becoming noticeably friendlier, "Now, you wanted to know if Pein here was your uncle…the answer is that he sort of is." Sakura looked from her father to Pein, and was about to look back again when Pein snorted.

"_Sort of_…what kind of words are those. Just tell her the blunt truth, she's not a little kid." He turned his irritated gaze on Sakura, "What he's not saying is that we're half-brothers…and that our mothers were both raped by the same guy." Sakura stared, but Pein ignored it and turned his gaze back to Li. "There, she knows now. But once again, why is the brat here? He has nothing to do with it. Li, you shouldn't have-"

Li's hand shot out and slapped Pein hard enough to make him stumble, but not hard enough to send him flying. "I've been lenient, but you've overstepped the line. I've told you before, you are not to order me around, Pein." The anger disappeared from him just as quickly as it appeared. Li continued in a lighter tone, "Also, little Tobi there _does _have something to do with this."

He looked at Pein, then Sakura and Tobi, and then said, "And that's the reason I had him come here with you. Sakura's question opened up the way for this, so I'm going to take the opportunity I was handed. I've decided that he's grown up enough to let him know the truth…and since the truth involves all of us, I decided to only say this once."

He looked at Tobi and Sakura, his expression serious as he said, "The reason I found Tobi and took him in wasn't because I was just being charitable. It was because Junko told me he existed, and where I might find him if I wanted to. And I did want to," he smiled at the both of them as he finished, "after all, Sakura, he's _also _your half-uncle."

Sakura's jaw almost dropped. "W-what!" Sakura glanced at Tobi, then back to her father, "How can he be my uncle? He's barely older than me! _And _he's my student!"

Beside her, Tobi was also apparently in shock as he jabbered, "Tobi is…Lady Sakura's…uncle? But…Tobi is…Lady Sakura's…student. Tobi is…Tobi is…TOBI IS CONFUSED!" Tobi started to run around in circles shouting that he was confused. He would have continued to do so if Sakura hadn't reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

She was about to tell him to calm down, when Pein started speaking to Li, very little surprise in his voice, "So, he's our little brother…" he glanced at Tobi, "that explains a lot. Though I still think that he's a brat."

Sakura watched as her father rolled his eyes at Pein's last statement. There was a moment more of silence, before he cleared his throat, "Now that we all are on roughly the same page, let's sit down and have a little chat." He motioned towards the now empty table where he and Sakura had eaten earlier. He looked specifically at Pein as he sat down and said, "You will know most of what I'm going to say already, but I want you to stay anyway." Pein only grunted and took a chair to the left of Li.

Li then motioned for Sakura to take the seat to his right. When she sat down, Tobi immediately took the vacant seat beside her, his eyes cast down, never looking away from his lap. She could guess that he was afraid that her father would have made him sit by Pein, who he was obviously frightened of. And he was probably afraid to look up in case his Master told him to move via eye contact.

Sakura sighed, moving her hand to pat his reassuringly under the table. She then looked at her father and asked shortly, "What is it?"

He smiled at her for a moment before saying, "Now that you both know what you are, I will tell you who you are. Our father's, your grandfather's, last name was Hachino. I don't know too much about him, but I do know some. The biggest thing, however, is our birthright, our Kekkei Genkai, the Shihaigan." He motioned towards Pein as he said, "The physical features of those with the Shihaigan are varied, but they all have some things in common. When activated, their eyes contain rings of either different colors, or different shades of the same color."

Li was about to continue when Sakura interrupted, "Why do you have to tell me this? In case you don't remember, I've inherited Junko's bloodline, not yours. And Tobi's inherited his mother's Kekkei Genkai too. So-"

Li cut her off with a smile, "Don't be so impatient, my little Sakura, I'm getting there. And Tobi…" Tobi flinched, his eyes still on his lap, "…calm down. It's not like you're on trial. Just relax and pay attention to what I have to say." Tobi nodded silently, his eyes still downcast.

After a moment's pause, Li began to speak again, "As I was saying, another thing they have in common, other than their looks, is, to a point, their ability." He motioned between himself and Pein as he said, "Pein and I have some of the same abilities, but not all. This is because of two things, and the one that I think you would most like to know, is the fact that the Shihaigan is an anomaly."

His face was serious as he said, "As I'm sure you know, normally when two people with different Kekkei Genkai have a child, their child will only inherit the more dominant of the two. However, the Shihaigan is a little different. It has an odd ability to share a person's body with one other Kekkei Genkai." He stared Sakura in the eye as he elucidated, "So, you have both your mother's Hoshi Eyes and my Shihaigan. The same goes for Tobi and Pein."

As Sakura stared at her father, he continued speaking as if she wasn't, "My mother, on the other hand, did not have a Kekkei Genkai to pass on to me, so I inherited both of my Father's Kekkei Genkai instead." He paused as if thinking, then he said, "Thanks to my darling Junko, I also know that my father inherited both of his Kekkei Genkai from his mother, despite the fact that his father also had a Kekkei Genkai, so I suppose that means that there's about a fifty/fifty chance of which Kekkei Genkai will be the child's second one when both parents have different Kekkei Genkai. Is there anything you have to add, Pein?"

Pein shook his head no, so Li continued, looking at his youngest brother and his daughter, "Other than that, the other thing all Shihaigan have in common is that they have different levels, similar to the Sharingan. However, were the Sharingan has only two levels, ours has four. And of course, the more levels, the more power." He looked at each of them in turn as he said, "Currently, I am the only one who has reached the fourth level. Pein is at the second level, and the both of you are still at the first level, and thus unable to utilize its power."

He leaned back in his chair as he explained, "Like the Sharingan, our Kekkei Genkai need certain things to happen for it to awaken, or move on to the next level, though, of course, what exactly is needed is different. For them, their first level requires that their life be in danger, and for their second level, they'd have to kill their best friend. Ours is both similar and different, especially considering that they don't have to happen in a specific order, and yet there is some order to it." Sakura glared at her father for the riddle.

He ignored her and continued, "It's hard to give all the detail of what it takes to advance through the levels, since I've had to figure them out myself, but I do have a pretty good grasp on the basics. The Four levels could be split into two separate sections, because the two levels in each of those sections build off each other. The restrictions for the two that only I have reached are that One, you have to bring a life into this world with someone you love, and who loves you back, and Two, you have to accept the fact that you have done so. Those are the restrictions I know of, at least. There may be more."

Before Sakura could do anything, her father was patting her on the head, an almost silly smile on his face, "Of course, it's thanks to you and Junko that I've reached this level." Sakura swatted his hand away, her face red and her eyes glaring. She didn't want him to act like a father to her…and she definitely didn't want him to treat her like a little kid.

His smile returned to his normal tell-nothing smile as his arm returned to his side, "That is the productive side of the Shihaigan, and it is the only side that our father apparently knew about. However, there is another side to the Shihaigan. The destructive side, and…" Li paused, and as he did so, Sakura got the bad feeling that she knew what he was going to say next, and she was right, "…if the productive side gives life, than…"

Sakura felt a sudden chill roll down her spine and a heavy weight land upon her shoulders. She had a really bad feeling about this…

* * *

As Sakura exited the room with Tobi, her heart was filled with turmoil. As her mind raced through everything that had happened, she'd almost not seen the person waiting for them at the end of the hallway. When she did see her, she couldn't stop herself from being glad that it hadn't been _him _instead. They walked over to Ayaka who gave them both a gentle smile; Tobi nodded and Sakura smiled in return, but she knew it wasn't convincing.

Before Ayaka could question them, Sakura made the request that she'd wanted to make earlier this morning, though for a different reason than she had originally planed, "Ayaka, could we go to the training room please." Ayaka gave her a look that Sakura easily defined as 'why?'. Sakura just gave a slight movement in the direction of the room. Ayaka gave a sympathetic nod. Neither of them had to say anything to be understood…and unlike with her father, it wasn't scary.

They had just reached the training room in silence when a young person (she couldn't tell if it was a girl or a guy) wearing the insignia of a subordinate came up to them to say that Yuri wanted to speak with Tobi. When he heard that, he instantly blanched, but left with the person anyway. When they were gone, Ayaka and Sakura entered the room, taking off their Akatsuki robes and getting into their stances without having said a word.

Ayaka threw the first punch and Sakura blocked, then returned fire. As they exchanged relatively easy blows, Ayaka asked, "What is it? What happened back there?" Sakura blocked again, then tried to kick Ayaka, who dodged. Neither was trying their hardest, after all, Sakura knew that Ayaka never would attack her in earnest, and Ayaka knew that Sakura wouldn't go all out on her if she wouldn't rise to the challenge.

Sakura answered, "You were partially right." she ducked under a kick, "Pein's my _half_-uncle." She tried to punch, but was blocked. Ayaka gave her a look that said that she knew that wasn't all. Sakura sighed, "He's not the only one though," She ducked under Ayaka's outstretched arm, her fist curled and coming towards her opponent's face, "so is Tobi."

Ayaka froze, and Sakura was barely able to stop her fist from making contact. Neither moved as Ayaka looked at her in disbelief. Sakura could read in Ayaka's eyes the same things that had run through her head when she'd found out. After a few more moments, Sakura disengaged first, since Ayaka obviously was too shocked to do so.

Ayaka was just lowering her arms when the door opened, making both of them look to see who it was. When Sakura saw who it was, she put on her smiling mask and said, "Hello, Itachi." She quickly turned back to Ayaka, "Well, I think we've sparred enough for today. I'm going to go back to my room now." Ayaka's face was stoic, but her eyes were worried. Sakura forced herself to ignore it, though, as she walked to, and then with Itachi back out into the hall, headed for her room.

They walked in silence, Sakura unable to bring herself to look at him. If she did, she was afraid that everything would come out at once and break the fragile shields she'd placed around her heart. She was fumbling at her door's handle when a hand, Itachi's hand, landed on the door-frame by her head. If she had been anyone else, she may have jumped, but as it was, she just reluctantly turned around, trying to look at him without meeting his eyes. His eyes could read her better than Ayaka's or her father's…and she didn't want to be read right now.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Too late.

Sakura carefully plastered her fake smile on, trying to make him feel that it wasn't as bad as he thought, "Nothing…much. I just…" she paused a moment, halfway to make sure her voice didn't betray her emotions, and halfway to think of what she could say without outright lying, "…Li just…told me some things, and…" Sakura turned back around, facing the door whose handle she still was holding in her hand. Behind her she could still feel Itachi's presence on her skin, but she turned the handle, opening the door and stepping in.

She turned around inside her room, not meeting his eyes, and said, "…and I'd rather think about them alone." Without further warning, Sakura closed the door gently, her eyes downcast. She knew that if she'd looked at his face, then she'd have seen worry rather than anger…and she hated herself for it. She didn't like to make him worry, but… Sakura slumped down to the ground, her back against the door…

Sakura stared up at the ceiling, her father's words coming unbidden to her head…

* * *

There, I know it may not be the longest chapter in the world, but it's decent, and it's the best I could do with piles of homework, other obligations stealing all my time, and not to mention being sick. Oh, and sorry about the extra week's wait.

In case you're wondering, Shihai means to rule, control, or direct. Also, next chapter will be having a lot happen, so be ready!

Reviews, constructive criticisms and people going to my Forum/**DeviantART** account will get to meet some nice Fairies…and if they're lucky, maybe in October they'll get to meet some of my vampire friends (don't worry, your blood won't be on the menu. That position belongs to the _other _category of 'reviewers'. -evil grin-). Now, lets get on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Anonymous, Ashi-Ikari, LovelyLittleAngel144, aznkitty180, xokatherine229, Silent Sinner Abella, flyingsnails, Goatis, KurenaiBara-chan, Hao'sAnjul, 10tealeaf, krazykoreangurl, jackie-chan1230, ItaDeiPei, SpeedDemon315, LadySakuraForest, lizzyguurl, The-Trapped-Phoenix, NightWing101 (it's not confusing, and I'm glad to see you're back), & Dhampire12 for reviewing!


	48. Accomplishments

Disclaimer: My deadlines are self imposed…what does that tell you?

**Chapter 48: Accomplishments**

Sakura stared up at the ceiling, her father's words coming unbidden to her head…

"…_if the productive side gives life, than the destructive side must take life. It's truly quite simple when you think of it. Even the Sharingan is like that, protecting one life and ending another…however, whereas the Sharingan requires only one life to be ended, ours requires quite a bit more…" He sighed, and then said, "To be blunt, it requires a massacre." _

_Sakura instantly paled and tried to argue, "I haven't massacred anyone! I would-"_

_Her father gave a sad smile as he cut her off, "You don't have to do it yourself, Sakura, it just has to happen because of you. You have already awoken to the first level thanks to Itachi…and Tobi has done so thanks to his mother." Sakura knew she was shaking, but she couldn't stop herself…she'd been afraid of something like this. It was bad enough knowing that her interference with time had caused Itachi to kill his clan, but to know it had…wait, he'd also killed her clan…so which was the real reason for her supposed awakening?_

_Her father must have read her thoughts, "I wasn't sure that the massacre of his clan would count, since he didn't know he was doing it because of you, so I decided to have him informed on what would happen to you if the Hoshi's got their hands on you. However, before you yell at me, I never told him anything other than that. What he decided to do with the information was up to him. It's just that he did what I'd hoped he'd do." _

_Sakura's anger instantly rose; he had manipulated Itachi into killing them! Despite her father having told her not to yell at him, she did so anyways, "How can you think that it's not your fault that he killed my family? You knew that he'd never allow them to come between us, and you knew that Itachi was…well, Itachi! He's the kind of person who bypasses peaceful means…he doesn't talk, he acts! You used him to try to awaken me, but obviously it didn't work, because I've never experienced anything different than my Hoshi Eyes, so you made him kill my family for nothing, and-"_

_Her father was shaking his head ruefully, as if she were a child throwing a tantrum due to a trivial matter. He interrupted her, "My little Sakura, it's nothing to get so worked up about. It was necessary, and it worked. You have awoken, but as I said, you are only at the first level…and the first level can not be controlled, so of course you wouldn't notice it. Our ability doesn't really show its true colors until we've reached the second level, and like with the productive side, to reach the second level you have to…accept…what has happened." Like she was going to do that._

Sakura glared at the ceiling as she remembered the words her father had begun to say right before he bid her and Tobi to leave.

"_I originally allowed I-" Li cut himself off, shaking his head as if he'd thought better of what he had been going to say, "Well, I suppose that doesn't matter now." Considering where the conversation had been, Sakura was sure she knew what her father had been going to say, and it angered her even more than everything else he already had said. Somehow she knew he was going to say something around the lines of 'I allowed Itachi to be with you to keep you with us.'_

After that, Sakura had tuned everything else out. It had taken all her concentration _not _to try to pumble her own father.

* * *

Kisame watched Itachi intently as they went from branch to branch, searching for their targets. He had known Itachi for years and, until recently, he'd been able to count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Itachi show his emotions…not to say he'd gotten past the second hand yet, but still, it was progress. He'd always thought Itachi was too…emotionless. Controlling your emotions is one thing, having none is another…and until the girl appeared, he'd sometimes wondered if Itachi was really human.

But apparently he was. Kisame watched Itachi's back, noting how the man was once again stoic; but when he'd come out to go on patrol with him, he hadn't been…at least, not completely. When he'd seen Itachi emerge, he'd been able to sense a slight difference in Itachi's indifference. It wasn't that he was smiling, or scowling, or anything obvious like that, but there was definitely a change, though he couldn't give it a name.

But he _could _take a gander as to the cause. It was definitely the girl-oh, yeah, their Leader had talked to them the night before about that. They were to call her Lady Sakura, Lady Haruno, or Lady Hachino (he still didn't understand that last one), not 'the girl' or anything like that. Opps…oh well, he'd only thought it anyway.

Kisame stopped as Itachi did. Ahead of them was what they'd been looking for, the stupid Grass nin's that had been popping up all over the place lately. They were worse than mosquitoes. Kisame grabbed his sword, a sharp toothed grin spreading across his face. It was time for some fun.

* * *

It was almost noon when a knock sounded on her door. Sakura ignored it and continued to read the journal, just as she had the other two times someone had knocked. It wasn't that she was trying to be rude, but she really didn't feel like talking to just anyone right now. And, hey, she was doing something with her alone time; she wasn't wasting it like she had been earlier.

Unlike before, the knocking came again instead of going away, and this time there was a voice that came with it…an annoyed voice…Ayaka's voice, "Lady Haruno, quit ignoring me." There came a pause, then, "You have until the count of three, then I'm coming in, with or without your permission. One, two, th-" Sakura got up and opened the door at the last second to see Ayaka glaring at her. "-ree… Finally!"

She barged past Sakura, inviting herself into the room, and closed the door behind her before turning on Sakura, her hands on her hips. "Now spill, what did Master say to you about Itachi? Don't look at me like that, it was written all over your face." Sakura stuck her tongue out childishly at Ayaka for having seen through her mask, but then gave a weak smile and the abbreviated version of what had happened. She'd known that Ayaka would force her into talking eventually; she was just like that. '_I guess that's why we're friends._'

After their conversation was finished, Ayaka stood up and grabbed Sakura's hand, dragging her towards the door, saying, "Come on, Lady Sakura, you've spent enough time sulking in your room." Sakura tried to argue that she hadn't been sulking (much) but had been decoding important information from the journal; however it didn't work as Ayaka continued to drag her in the direction of her cousins' room. "You can do that just as easily in a room with people." She paused, then added, "And I'm sure you can do it even better in a room with windows. Really, you don't take good enough care of yourself."

Ayaka continued to nag at Sakura as if she were her older sister until they reached their destination and Ayaka practically threw Sakura into her cousins' clutches. She then closed the door, saying she'd come back later when they'd finished eating. Sakura sighed, then gave a real smile as she returned her cousins' enthusiastic greetings, and then let herself be dragged over to where the food was. Sakura decided as they ate that after they finished, she'd update them on some of what she'd been able to translate.

* * *

After checking up on Sakura and her cousins, Ayaka stalked quietly down the hall, avoiding contact with anyone. She continued moving form shadow to shadow until she was three floors down, then she stopped and hid in the shadow of a door frame near the end of the hallway and waited. She had lost track of how long she'd been concealing herself when what she'd been waiting for finally arrived.

Her brother moved past her hallway, not noticing that he was being watched. Once he was past, Ayaka shadowed him, always staying just out of sight. He finally turned a corner, she waited a moment, then pursued. She just had time to see him turn yet another corner. She waited, letting him get far enough ahead to not see her move to the corner he'd just turned. '_…four…five._' Ayaka hurried forward, catching a glimpse of Tobi opening a door, and then…she suddenly stopped.

The hallway was gone, replaced by a wall. '_drats! Too late!_' Ayaka moved back to the previous corner, settling down out of sight to wait in a very unhappy manor. For a long time her mind was racing over ways to combat this new predicament. Even after that, a long wait ensued. She was about to nod off for the fifth time when the she heard footsteps. She mentally counted to five, then looked.

He was just passing the place where the wall had been last she'd looked. Ayaka quickly moved into the shadows of a hallway to nowhere, knowing her brother would head back the way he'd come. He passed her hallway obliviously, continuing on his way. Ayaka stared after him, both worried and surprised with what she saw. '_Does Lady Sakura know about this? No, she said she only saw him go in, not out. What's he…?_'

She knew that this area was where they kept prisoners they didn't want to die yet (meaning they were under her master's authority rather than Zetsu's, which was why she even knew as much as she did about this). But what was he doing in there…especially to come out like that? He looked exhausted, and if that stuff on his clothes wasn't blood, she didn't know what was. '_But why? Master Konan wouldn't allow someone other than herself deal with torture, so why else-_'Ayaka abruptly cut herself off.

She sat down heavily as an unwanted possibility forced itself into her head. '_Surely it's not something like that. If it was, then wouldn't master Konan ask her to do so instead? There's no way master would have anyone do that unless the problem was something that was already out of Tobi's skill level, so…_'

Ayaka paled as an explanation formulated itself in her head. '_That _could _be the case…It __would__ explain why it would be Tobi who was called on instead, despite his inability…but I can't be sure. I'll have to ask her…see if he's done or asked anything suspicious that would lead to that likely being the case…_'

Ayaka stood up, then mentally added, '_I'd best ask other people too…you never know who he may have let something slip to…though I'll have to be careful so no one suspects me of digging…I know of at least one person who would try to blow me up if he suspected me. I know he'd absolutely __love __to blow me up, given the chance…then again, he loves to blow up anything _'given the chance'_…including his temper. In fact, that's probably his favorite thing to 'blow up', seeing as he does so all the time._'

* * *

Sakura raised her hand slightly as everyone watched with held breaths. She had read the passage countless times, but she was still worried what might happen if she messed up. How had she gotten herself into this? Oh, yeah, her cousins had badgered her into it once they found out what the passage in question had said. Sakura kept her hand still, looking at her cousins, wondering if she could try once more to get out of this…but then she gave it up. Everyone's eyes, even Noya's, where filled with hope and anticipation.

Sakura sighed and was about to move her hand when there came a knock. Mentally Sakura breathed a sigh of relief…that is, until the door opened…and Kisame came barging in without waiting for an answer to his knock, followed by a frowning Itachi. Sakura knew Itachi well enough to see he was annoyed, though she couldn't be sure as to what he was annoyed at.

Kisame grinned at her, "Long time no see lit-" Sakura twitched as he began the word little. Suddenly he switched wording, "-Lady Sakura." Sakura twitched again. This time he didn't seem to care, "What 'cha doing with the brats…" he trailed off, his eyes landing on Noya. There was a pause, and then he broke out his all-tooth grin and laughed, "The boy's got pink hair!"

Sakura glared at him and retorted angrily, "So, what's wrong with pink hair?"

He continued to laugh as he said, "Nothing…for a _girl_!" He laughed a bit more, then turned to Itachi and said, "You better hope your boys" at this point Sakura's eyes widened. She raised her hand, her face flushed and her eyes turning blue, "don't have pi-" His jaw suddenly snapped shut. Muffled sounds followed as he tried to continue speaking, but to no avail. Behind her, her cousins broke out in applause.

Sakura ignored the cheering of he cousins as she advanced towards Kisame, a glare in her still blue eyes. When she was standing in front of him she said in a low, steely voice that Itachi would barely be able to hear, "Don't you dare make fun of Noya. All Hoshi's have pink hair, it has nothing to do with gender. And, don't ever try that again."

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper for Kisame's ears only, "Because next time you do, I may not be there to stop Itachi from wanting to kill you." Sakura took a step back, then said with a fake smile, "Understand?" Kisame nodded instantly, "Good. Next time, think before you speak." Sakura closed her eyes, then lifted her hand, moving it in the pattern from the journal. When she finally opened her eyes, they were green, and Kisame could talk once more. It would be a while more before she was able to get him out of the room.

* * *

Ayaka listened at the door. She had been going to go in, but then she'd heard Itachi's voice and she'd stopped. She listened as he told Sakura that he'd be gone for a while. He sounded like he was about to say something else, but then seemed to think the better of it, and instead told Kisame that they had to leave.

Ayaka made a hasty retreat, disappearing around a nearby corner…she seemed to be doing a lot of that today. She listened as Itachi and Kisame's footfalls led them away from her. They were almost out of earshot when she heard Kisame's voice distantly ask, "Why didn't you tell her how long we'd all be gone?"

Ayaka expected Itachi to not answer, or just say 'hn', but her expectations were trounced. "Because, she'd guess the significance of a three day absence." That was all he said, but it shocked Ayaka. He answered, he _actually _answered! It took a while for the shock to wear off, but when it did, it left her with new plans forming in her head. She'd already found out that for the next three days she and the green haired guy would be the ones watching over Sakura, and…

And with what she'd just heard, she could guess that the reason was because all four of her normal guards would be on a leave of absence for some unknown reason. However, the _reason _wasn't important; what _was _important, was that that probably meant that she'd have a good chance of getting to the door…if her plan to get past the irritating wall worked, that is.

* * *

Sasuke glared into the crystal orb, but once again was shown nothing but an empty clearing. He'd expected it, but it still irked him. Sakura was still being held in the blind spot…and by _him_, no less. Sasuke's hand tightened on the orb, and for a moment, he entertained the idea of crushing it, but then he decided it still had value, even if just barely. He relaxed his grasp, glaring into it as if he were still absorbed in seeing something in it.

He then listened in as Kabuto spoke in a hushed voice to Orochimaru about what his spies had found so far. It was probably nothing important, but it was always good to know more than others thought you did. To his surprise, Kabuto actually said something that caught his attention. "…and two Akatsuki were seen heading towards the village where the eight tailed kid resides."

It took a lot of control to wait long enough for Kabuto to continue on to say that they had the village watched before setting aside the stupid sphere. Orochimaru turned his beady eyes towards him, as if to ask if he'd seen anything, but his glare must have been answer enough, for he just shrugged, then turned back to Kabuto. Sasuke didn't wait to be dismissed, he just left.

He entered his room, sitting heavily on the bed, weighing his options. He knew that if the Akatsuki were about to capture another tailed beast, it meant that there would be a three day interval when they wouldn't be moving around. And _that _meant that he had an opportunity to rescue Sakura from Itachi. However, he knew that the eight tails wasn't Itachi or Kisame's target, so that meant that they were most likely still in the blind spot.

That being the case, he had two options. He could go in and rescue her now, during the next three days, but there was a high risk involved with that. Even if Itachi would be immobile, his being in the same place as Sakura meant it would be harder for him to get in unnoticed, and get Sakura out safely, also, preferably, unnoticed.

On the other hand, he could wait for them to either find Kisame's tailed beast (he didn't know what one it was, but he knew it wasn't eight), or for his brother to leave after Naruto (who, as far as he knew, was hospitalized in Konoha, a gaping hole through his stomach from their battle). From what he'd heard by listening into Kabuto and Orochimaru's discussions, the Akatsuki had so far accumulated six tailed beasts, so there was a high likelihood that Kisame and Itachi would be leaving Sakura behind eventually.

It wasn't that he was afraid of facing Itachi, in fact, he was sure he could kill him if they met. However, he knew Sakura would most likely get injured if he initiated a battle with Itachi. He may have wanted to kill Itachi very badly, but a rescue was no time for a death match. He'd save the killing Itachi part for after he'd saved Sakura.

He had already decided that his long awaited face off with Itachi would have to be put off. However, should he also put off rescuing Sakura? He wanted to get her out of there as soon as possible, but something was bothering him in the back of his mind. After a moment, the cause became clear as he remembered what he'd heard.

* * *

What did he remember? Will he act? Will he wait? And what about Naruto? Oh, and what's Ayaka's plan to get past the wall? Will it work? What will she find behind the door? What do you think is going to happen?

I haven't gone through and edited this a second time, since I only had a few minutes before I had to leave on my school trip (6:30 am), so if there are any errors, just tell me and I'll fix them as soon as I get the chance.

Reviews, constructive criticism and people going to my forum/DeviantART page can have some home made apple strudel (I really just made some). Flamers…let me tell you something…its apple _strudel_, not apple _crisp_! Now that we have that down, let's move on to the _pretty list_! (Ack, I just rhymed!)

Thanks to: LadySakuraForest (I'm not quite that cruel), KurenaiBara-chan, ItaDeiPei, Silent Sinner Abella, xokatherine229, Cute-Killer-Gurl, aznkitty180, .assassinator (I guess the lesson is 'Don't get grounded' so you can read my story), & Faye for reviewing!


	49. Coming Closer to the Truth

Disclaimer: I wouldn't need one of these if I did.

**Chapter 49: Coming Closer to the Truth**

Later that night, Ayaka walked into the library, leaving her brother to stand watch sleepily by the door. When she finally found Sakura, she was hidden in among a pile of books, reading by candlelight. She didn't look up as Ayaka approached, but neither did she jump when Ayaka spoke, "Lady Haruno, it's late, and you should be going to bed." Sakura set down the book, and Ayaka noticed that for once it wasn't the one big book that she usually was carrying around with her. "What were you reading?"

Sakura stood up, stretching as she answered, "It's a book about what can happen to wounds when left untreated…or treated poorly." Ayaka made a face to show how interesting she found the subject. Sakura gave a little smile, "Yeah, it's not the best subject in the world, but ever since Tobi asked me about healing infections, I haven't been able to get the topic out of my head for very long. Don't know why, though."

Ayaka just nodded in answer as they both started walking towards the doors to the library. When they finally exited the room, they found Tobi leaning against the wall…asleep. Ayaka shook her head, then shook her brother. Once she was satisfied that he wouldn't fall back asleep, all three of them headed to Sakura's room, Ayaka sighing, Tobi apologizing, and Sakura reassuring Tobi while giggling.

The trip back to her room was quick, and soon Sakura had gone to bed, leaving Ayaka and Tobi alone. Mere moments after the door had closed, Tobi surprised Ayaka by tugging on her sleeve. He then tugged her away from Sakura's door, obviously not wanting to be overheard. As he pulled her along Ayaka noticed that he seemed worried about something.

It took Tobi a few minutes of fumbling with his words before finally he began to say what he'd intended to say. He told her about what Master had said, both about them being related and about his new Kekkei Genkai. It was only after that that he told her something Sakura hadn't, "And right before Tobi and Lady Sakura left…Master told us something…and it's been bothering Tobi."

Tobi paused, scuffing his foot on the ground, "Master said that our Kekkei Genkai could…what were the words he used? Oh, yeah, Master said that it could control 'that which had never lived'. But what's that mean? Tobi's confused!"

Ayaka stared at her brother, but quickly regained her composure, answering him as best she could, "Well, I suppose that it means that this other Kekkei Genkai controls things that aren't alive, like rocks…and water…and…_other _things like that. But it would also mean that it wouldn't be able to control, for instance, something that had died, since that had once been alive. Do you get it now?"

Tobi slowly nodded his head, obviously still processing what she'd said. After a while of silence, Ayaka asked, "It's not that I don't like you asking me things, but why didn't you ask Lady Haruno? After all, she was there too."

Tobi shook his head once, "Lady Sakura was there, but Lady Sakura also wasn't there." A look from Ayaka made him scurry to explain, "What Tobi means is that Lady Sakura stopped listening right before Master said that. Tobi doesn't think Lady Sakura heard anything." Ayaka just nodded, that made sense. After all, if her father had said enough things about Itachi, then it would make sense for Sakura to start tuning him out. After all, for a while there, she'd been tuning everyone and everything out, holing herself up in her room.

* * *

The next day when Sakura exited her room, she found Ayaka waiting for her. They began the morning with a bout in the training room, and then they met her cousins in the library for lessons and journal decoding. It was only after she'd sent her cousins to bed that she noticed that Ayaka had been with her the whole time, never once switching out with Tobi or Deidara.

Sakura set her book down, clearing her throat, "Ayaka…Is there a reason why I haven't seen Tobi or Deidara today?"

Ayaka shrugged, then answered truthfully, "I wasn't told why I was to take over being your guard other than that they'd be unable to do so." Sakura nodded, accepting Ayaka's answer, not once thinking on Ayaka's choice of words. If she had, she may have remembered that Ayaka only said that that was what she'd been told…she'd never mentioned anything about her pastime, or what information that might have dug up. Instead, Sakura just continued to read one book after another, searching for something, though she didn't know what or why, until Ayaka reminded her to go to bed.

* * *

The second day of Itachi's departure, Sakura opened her door to be greeted by Hiraku rather than Ayaka, "Good morning, little lady. I hope you slept well."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from glaring at him, "Fine…now why are you here," Sakura paused, then decided to add for politeness' sake, "if you would, please?"

Hiraku chuckled good naturedly, "For one, Ayaka and I are taking turns guarding you, and for another," he pulled out an envelope from his pocket, "your father asked me to give you this." Sakura took the envelope, raising her eyebrow in question. To her surprise, he seemed to understand, either that, or he'd predicted she'd want to know, "Li left during the night." he motioned to the letter, "Maybe he says something about it in there, I don't know, but you should probably read it."

Sakura sighed, returning to her room to open the envelope. The letter was short and simple, saying he'd been glad to see her, but that he had to return to his work. Sakura noted mentally that he didn't mention what his _work_ was. He ended the letter with reminding her that if she needed anything, she need only ask, and within reason, it would be gotten for her. Sakura scoffed quietly, "I suppose being allowed to see my friends doesn't count as 'within reason'." She discarded the letter, grabbed the journal, and then left her room for the second time that day.

* * *

Ayaka crept down the hall, staying in the shadows until she could reach the last corner before her destination. She didn't want anyone to see her and wonder why she was headed where she was headed. After all, Ayaka spent more time with Sakura and doing…things…out in the field rather than being in the underground cells. That was her master's precinct, not hers…however, her _other _master was interested in what may have been down here…and now, so was she.

When Ayaka _finally _reached the corner before where the annoying wall stood, she stopped in the shadow of a doorway, letting her muscles relaxes, calming herself. When she was significantly composed, she breathed out, bringing to mind a picture of her brother. From his black hair to his shod feet, she critiqued his figure in her minds eyes. As she breathed in, she felt her muscles twitch, as if rearranging themselves; however, it was an itch she couldn't scratch, so she didn't even try.

Luckily the feeling quickly dissipated as her body settled. When she opened her eye, she knew she had taken on the likeness of Tobi. In all aspects she looked like Tobi, but it wasn't a Genjutsu, it was real. She had shaped her physical body to be that of her brother's. In every apparent aspect, she _was _Tobi…hopefully the wall thought so too. Ayaka took a deep breath, then stepped around the corner, headed for the wall.

One step, two steps, three…the wall wavered a moment, then disappeared from sight altogether. Mentally Ayaka cheered, her plan had worked! She hurried through the opening, not knowing how long it may stay open. She had just reached the door she'd seen her brother go through when the wall reappeared.

She didn't breath a sigh of relief or contentment just yet, though; she still had one more hurtle to pass before she could celebrated. The door had to be opened and it's contents noted. Ayaka reached out Tobi's hand, gently letting it rest on the doorknob, hoping that the door would be unlocked. She tested the doorknob…

It wouldn't budge. '_Luck's not on my side, apparently…that means that I'll have to pull out my lock picks…and I'm afraid I'm a little rusty with them. Hopefully this doesn't take too long. Even if this hallway is rarely used…I still don't want to be found out. _'

* * *

Sakura sat with her cousins in their room. Today they were focusing on the journal rather than their healing skills, since none of them felt like having to ask the green haired Hiraku for anything more than necessary. For Sakura, it was because he was so close to her father, and for her cousins, it was because they took their cues from her; and if she didn't want to be around him, then neither did they.

Sakura flipped the book open to a random page near the middle and found the first entry, which was unusually short. Sakura and her cousins surrounded the book, reading and decoding the familiar handwriting until it's message finally began to be understood. As far as they could tell, it read:

_The ninth day of the second season, _

_first year of the Fourteenth Pillar_

_The Fourteenth is quite a sight, always hyper, always bouncy. Maybe it's just the Pillar's age, seeing as the Fourteenth is still just a child…heh, if little Riku found out that I'd written that just now…Riku would throw a fit. Saying things like 'Don't start calling me that like all the others do.' Riku just doesn't like being called the Pillar. Poor thing…though Riku better get used to it, it will happen for the rest of Riku's life._

_But now, onto another thing that the Fourteenth would get angry about…If Riku ever finds this, I hope it's not until I'm long gone. But that's the thing, right there, I'm leaving. I'm leaving, and I'll probably never see Riku or the others ever again. It's sad, however, it's necessary that I leave, and soon. So this will be my last entry, since I can not take this book with me where I'm going…so goodbye. Oh, and Riku, if you're reading this, please do as I wrote in my farewell letter. It's important. Thanks…and don't be angry. You knew this day would come._

When Sakura finished reading the passage, her eye's immediately darted over to the next page, where, despite what the writer had said, there was more writing. It only took a moment more, however, for Sakura to notice that something was different between the two passages. It was both the handwriting and the words themselves. Sakura and her cousins struggled to read the next few lines, and instantly the reason for the change in writing became obvious.

_The tenth day of the second season, _

_Fiftieth year of the Nineteenth Pillar_

_My new parents gave me this book, since the day I arrived was the same day that this book was both begun and finished. 'Mother' (she keeps insisting I call her that) said she thought that it must be a sign that the previous writer and I were connected by fate; well, that and the fact that she apparently had a dream the morning I arrived about the book. She's a Dream Walker, so of course she took it as being prophetic. She thinks that I may be the distant relative of the previous writer…but she has it all wrong. I can guess what her dream really meant, but I won't write it down in case someone reads this._

The writing form was much different from the previous one, making translation even harder for Sakura. There were even more words now that she wasn't completely sure she knew the proper meaning to. For instance, she had first thought it said 'connected by fate', but as she'd read more, she'd started to doubt herself, wondering as she went along if it was 'connected by blood' instead. However, this new writer interested Sakura, so instead of turning back to read older entries, she decided to continue with this one.

_I'm not really sure what all I'm going to write in this, but I suppose keeping a journal wouldn't hurt. Hmm…what do you write in a journal other than secrets (which I'm __**definitely **__not writing in a book that anyone could pick up and read. Sorry, nosy people, but some things I'd rather no one know)?_

Sakura and her cousins laughed at that. It sounded like the author knew people would be taking a peak at her journal. Maybe she had a lot of enemies…or maybe she was just paranoid. They continued to decode the newer entry.

_Well, I guess I should tell you some about me…though I don't feel like doing too much of that either (really, either you already know me, and are snooping, or I'm long gone and you will never know me anyhow). Anyways, I'm thirteen, though no one believes me. They all think I'm ten for some reason…I don't get them. Let's see, a description…I'm a (mostly) typical Hoshi…enough said. As for a name, I already_ said _I'm a Hoshi. I don't really feel like telling you about my real parents...all you need know is that I now have a new mother and father. You don't need to know why-_

* * *

Sakura suddenly straightened as she felt a slight rumble vibrate through the ground. She passed the book to Noya and walked to the door quickly, throwing it open as another wave hit them, this time followed by a distant boom. One glance at Hiraku told her that this wasn't planed, and that the only reason he hadn't yet gone to find out what was going on was because he had to stick with her. Sakura turned around, "You guys stay in here." She then closed the door firmly and turned to Hiraku, "Lead the way."

He didn't need to be told twice as they sprinted down the hall. As they ran, he suddenly made a sharp turn, but Sakura followed unquestioningly. By the time she noticed that he had lead her away from where the sounds were coming from it was too late, she didn't know where she was.

She would have stopped, but he grabbed her hand and tugged her towards a door that had no other doors near it. He swung the door open , gave her a gentle push into the windy room, then said before closing the door, "Stay with sis, milady. It's too dangerous for you to go out." Then the door shut in her face. Sakura sighed and turned around to see a green haired woman who looked just like the one from her dream. Michi's eyes were closed, she tuned back around, thinking about trying the door handle to see if it was locked.

The moment her hand began to move, the woman behind her spoke in a bare whisper, "You shouldn't try that, Miss Sakura." Sakura swung around, but the woman's eyes were still closed. "If you're that curious to see what's happening, then sit down and close your eyes. I'll do the rest." Sakura had nothing else to do, so she did as she was told.

The moment she closed her eyes, she found herself in strange place, so weird she couldn't even begin to describe it. She didn't have to worry about that, though, as the same woman from before taped her on the shoulder, then directed her to what appeared to be a floating screen of some sort. On it was a picture from outside.

The woman explained, "Those stones help hold up the barrier that I create. If even one of them goes down, I'll have a much harder time keeping the shield up…not to say I wouldn't be able to, though. But if one of them goes down, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay here with me. I'll have to send you back to your body. Just warning you." Sakura nodded numbly as she stared at the screen.

There were ninja all around, looking like they were prepared to charge at any minute. Only two of them were currently doing something, and that was throwing bombs at a large stone. Sakura didn't need to be told that this was one of the stones that the woman, Michi, had mentioned.

* * *

The story's pace is increasing, can you feel it? Well, you should, and hey, the door opens in the next chapter!

Sorry about the long wait, but Sui-chan borrowed my flash drive, so I had to wait for that in order to update. Because you're getting this today and because school is giving me too many assignments, I probably won't update Saturday (11). Once again, sorry, but school comes first.

Reviews, constructive criticism, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page are welcome to a game of pin the kunai on the assassin…guess who the assassin is. Well…it certainly isn't those on the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: xokatherine229, Ashi-Ikari, Anonymous, Lady Mikomi, I-Love-Akatsuki, jackie-chan1230, Silent Sinner Abella (he has appeared before, you know), Ozeki, Ilse Montague (thanks...I'm really not up to date. Well, at least this is fanfic, so it doesn't have to fit perfectly with the real story), .assassinator (I know what you mean by driving being torture), SnowWolfSpirit (I think you are already on Itachi's bad side), ItaDeiPei (In one of the chapters I said, pretty much, that he'd been trying to find Sakura in the orb he got from the Hoshi he kidnapped...that's pretty much how he got introduced. If you have any more questions, PM me), Cster (They are all very good questions), Evilemokitties And Shia, & Angels Falls8 for reviewing!


	50. The Door, Finally!

Disclaimer: No…and if you don't review this one…the next one may be longer in coming.

**Chapter 50: The Door **(Finally!)

Hiraku glared with his yellow and purple eyes as he ran towards the enemy, who couldn't see him. '_How did these sleazebags find us?_' He stopped just inside the barrier, his hands flying at an astonishing pace. Some of the Grass ninja screamed as knife like hands shot up out of the ground, cutting their legs from under them.

There was pandemonium as hundreds of metal _things _pulled themselves from the earth. They were about the size of an average human female; however these things were in no way human. They had six hands of knives attached to overly long arms which, in turn, were attached to a stub of a body with no head. Sharp feet, and long, blade-like legs with spikes on the knees finished the terrifying sight…or so it appeared.

Hiraku smirked, '_Look at how they run…it's almost funny. And they haven't even seen the face of their enemy yet…so why be so terrified?_' He watched as his creations tore into the enemy ninja, lowering their numbers every second, '_Oh, yeah, that's why._' If the scene hadn't been so bloody, he may have laughed. Instead, he mentally taunted them, '_You're all acting like babies! They're not that scary…unless you're arachnophobic…but that doesn't count! Shesh, you're all so weak. Even Tobi could beat one of them…though I admit…__that__ must have been a miracle on his part._' This time he really did laugh.

Hiraku was about to continue taunting them mentally when something caught his attention. There were still stupid imbeciles that were trying to destroy the barrier rock. His temper flared, '_How dare you nincompoops try to destroy my wonderful creation! It may look like a rock, but I assure you, it ain't. Hey! Stop hitting it already! Do you know how long it took me to perfect that? That's it! Time for you to meet the head of this family!_'

His hands flew together, beginning the hand signs, but then he stopped himself as a thought hit him, '_Wait, the little lady's probably watching…and it wouldn't be good for her to see that. I don't care about these guys, since they're all going to die anyways, but the little lady will surely have nightmares if she sees…I guess I'd better not unearth that just yet._' Hiraku sighed, '_I guess I'll have to settle for option B instead…not as fun, but it'll have to do._'

* * *

Sakura watched in horrified amazement as the lethal metal anomalies popped up out of the ground, cutting down their enemy as if they were made of paper. Sakura couldn't help herself; she activated her Eyes, focusing on one of the metal monsters. There was a dab of Chakra at the base of one leg, however, despite her expectations, there was nothing connecting the monsters to Hiraku. "How'd he do that? How does he control them?"

When the answer came, it was dull, "He doesn't." Sakura looked at the green haired Michi. Michi shrugged, but explained anyway, "He made them, then buried them in the ground. They're kind of like our back up protection forces. Other than them, there's only one other thing…and I hope he doesn't use it. Even _I_ can't stand that thing…don't even ask, Miss Sakura…you _really _don't want to know."

Michi shook her head as if to dislodge a disturbing picture, then continued speaking, watching the screen, "As I was saying, he doesn't control them. All his Jutsu does is wake them up. They're already programmed on who _not _to kill…other than that…they kill pretty much everything else." She paused, then added, "It's probably a good thing the idiot left you with me. I bet that lazy brother of mine forgot to update the list." Sakura shivered, and decided not to ask anymore.

They watched in silence as the metal monsters sliced up their enemies. It wasn't until they heard a deafening crack that they turned their attention back to what was happening around the rock. There were about twenty metal monsters trying to guard the rock from the threatening bombs, however, one had just gotten past, and now there was an evident crack on the rock, though it was still in one piece.

Michi grimaced, "Sorry, Miss Sakura, but you'd best leave now. It may not be completely broken, but even so, it's already getting harder to hold the barrier…and now that they've hurt my brother's 'precious creation', I'm sure he'll lose his temper and bring out _that_…and believe me, you're better off not seeing _that_." she shivered, then continued, "Remember, stay in the room until someone comes to get you. Now, close your eyes…"

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was back in the room Hiraku had brought her to, Michi sitting beside her in a trance. She stood up and stretched, wishing she could have seen more, but she knew that the strain on Michi must have been getting to her and that Michi would have an easier time without her there. "I wonder what's happening out there."

* * *

An hour went by, and the sound of bombs slowly disappeared. Other than that, Sakura had no idea of how things were going. She had thought about leaving, but then she remembered that she didn't know where she was and decided to stay put. Sakura turned to look at Michi once more. She was sweating, and her face showed that she was working hard on holding the barrier.

Sakura sighed and was about to do another sit up when rapid knocking sounded on the door. She stood up and walked to the door, halfway expecting Michi to say something, but she didn't. '_Maybe it's all over and Hiraku has come back._' The moment Sakura opened the door, Ayaka practically fell in. She was out of breath, her face was flushed, and she looked like she was flustered. "What's wrong Ayaka?"

Ayaka grabbed her arm, trying to regain her breath and speak at the same time, "Lady…you were…right…I found out why…they didn't want you to…find out…but, I think…that what they did…was stupid."

Sakura felt dread building up in her gut as she asked, "Just calm down, Ayaka. What are you talking about?"

Her heart sped up as Ayaka took a few breaths before answering, "The door," Sakura's heart skipped a beat, "I looked into it and…you have to hurry!" She started tugging on Sakura weakly, trying to pull her out of the room, "I don't know why master Konan made such a decision…" Ayaka was rambling, and it made Sakura feel even more worried than before, "…even I could tell that the problem would require someone of your skills, not Tobi's. I mean, I understand why master wouldn't want you to find out…it makes perfect sense, seeing as it's him, but…"

Sakura's ears roared and the blood drained out of her face as everything clicked into place. She didn't waste another moment. Sakura ran out of the room, remembering too late that she didn't even know where she was. She skid to a sudden halt at the end of the hallway as two things happened. The first was that she saw Hiraku hurrying up one hallway, and the second was that she recognized where she was, despite the fact that she'd never been here before.

It was the same as her dream…this was the place her dream had always started. Sakura glanced at Hiraku, who was quickening his pace, having seen her. She didn't have time to waste on explaining things to him…if her intuition was correct, and she had a bad feeling it was, then she had no time to waste at all. If by him Ayaka had meant _him_, then…Sakura ran the other way, not even caring if Hiraku or Ayaka followed her. The only thing running through her mind was '_Please don't let me be right!_' and '_Please don't let me be too late!_'

Sakura ran the same path as her dream self had countless times. It was so familiar, and now she knew why she'd always been in such a hurry in those dreams…and speaking of dreams, now that she thought about it, other dreams seemed to be pointing her in the same direction…a direction she really had rather they hadn't. She sincerely wanted to be wrong on this one…but all the facts and her thundering heart told her that she probably wasn't.

Sakura flew down the stairwells and halls, going as quickly as she could until she hit a wall…well, almost hit a wall. She stopped inches from the wall that hadn't been in her dreams, and for the first time, she heard the sound of footsteps pounding after her. She heard rather than saw Hiraku fling himself around the corner, trying not to lose her. He mustn't have noticed where she had been heading, because he took one step too many, and the wall instantly vanished.

Sakura zipped past, not waiting for Hiraku to jump back to reapply the wall. Behind her, Sakura heard Hiraku cuss, but she ignored it as she ran at the door that didn't want her to look at it. Hiraku would be coming after her in another moment, and she refused to let him stop her. She was just about to reach the door, her hand outstretched, when she hit another wall, this one invisible. A glance over her shoulder told her that it was Hiraku's doing. It made sense that he could make barriers just like his sister could…but this was not a time for him to be hindering her.

Sakura pushed against the shield, thinking desperately, '_I've got to get through…I can't let him stop me here! It's important…I can't let _him _die because of me not getting to him…so what if a lot of people have already died because of me, I can't change that, but I can live with it, I must…but I __can't__ live with _him _dying because of me! I will _not_…Let…__**Him**__…__**DIE**__!_' Sakura didn't know why or how, but she felt power well up from within her, flowing through her body to her hand.

There was a moment of pressure as the barrier tried to refuse her entry…and then it shattered under her power. Her hand flew to the door handle, she absentmindedly noticed signs of the door being opened without a key, but she didn't care for more than a second. Her hand pressed down on the handle…a moment of resistance…and then it turned. She pressed all her weight against the door, about to force it open; and then a hand landed on her shoulder.

Sakura threw the arm off her, instantly raising her hand to do something she hadn't previously thought to do. She froze Hiraku in his place, leaving him only enough room to breath and nothing more. She then returned her attention back to the door. She placed her weight against the door once more and pushed. This time the door really opened, and unlike in her dreams, she saw what laid beyond it…and it broke her heart.

* * *

Ayaka ran, huffing and puffing, after Sakura and Hiraku, hoping that Sakura would be able to beat Hiraku there. If she didn't, she may never get to see her friend again, after all, despite Tobi's efforts, he was dying. Ayaka rounded a corner and was surprised to see that the wall wasn't there. She ran past the missing wall, cursing how the use of her Kekkei Genkai left her so tired.

It was then that she got her second shock of the minute. Hiraku was standing just outside the door, by all appearances, unable to move. Ayaka dashed past, him to the open door, thinking, '_He shouldn't have tried to stop her._' She stopped just inside the doorway, trying to catch her breath as she took in the scene. Sakura was standing before the blond boy who was lying on the semi-bed (semi, for the mattress being only about an inch thick), her hands hovering over the gigantic hole in his stomach; the one with profuse puss and dead tissue…not to mention a stench strong enough to make her glad she hadn't eaten any lunch.

A closer look at Sakura showed that her face was tear streaked and her hands were shaking. However, those details only momentarily caught her interest, because her attention was immediately drawn to Sakura's eyes. They were as she had never seen them before, on Sakura or on anybody else. Ayaka shook her head, forcing herself to look away. She didn't have time to worry about that. She hurried over to Sakura's side, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sakura's eyes never wavered from the boy as she said in an almost whisper, "Get my cousins…and that book on wounds I was reading." Ayaka didn't waste a moment, she took off at a run, ignoring how her body wanted to collapse.

* * *

Sasuke was in his room once more, thinking about what he'd just seen in the annoying orb. Like normal, he still hadn't been able to see Sakura, but this time he wasn't just seeing an empty clearing either. Surrounding the whole clearing had been a sea of Grass ninja. Near one end, the Grass ninja had been trying to blow up a rock for no apparent reason. It was then that the metal beasts had dug themselves out of the earth and chopped down the enemy as fast as they could.

As he'd watched, the ninja had continued to try to blow up the rock while also trying not to get killed, with poor results…but there were results. After a successful hit, the rock cracked, and for an instant, whatever it was that had been blocking his sight vanished, revealing a building at the center. In the blink of an eye the building was gone, but it was then that Sasuke understood why they had been so keen on attacking the rock.

By that time, the Grass ninja's numbers had already dwindled, but the cracking of the rock must have set something off, because less than a second after the dust settled, a giant monstrosity sprang out of the ground, instantly killing those unfortunate enough to have been standing above its earthen home. As if drawn by a magnet, the smaller metal beasts swarmed the giant, attaching on like overly sharp and flexible appendages.

As he'd watched the last of the Grass ninja be annihilated, he'd been glad he'd listened to his instinct…and that he'd remembered Sakura's warning in time to decide not to act too soon. This must have been why she'd said what she had. Having waited, he now knew about their defenses, and knowing about them meant that he could figure a way around them.

Yes, knowing what he faced was useful, but there was another tidbit he'd found out that could be just as useful. After all the ninja were dead, he'd seen a green haired man appear out of thin air from the direction of the clearing. The man had been muttering to himself, something about how it would take him months to rewire and bury all of them.

Sasuke smirked…yes, waiting had paid off indeed. Now, if only they'd go after the next tailed beast soon so that he could get in before their last line of defense was back up and running.

* * *

There, it may be slightly shorter than no_rmal,_ but, hey, the door has FINALLY been opened! Did any of you guess that that was what would await Sakura's arrival. And maybe now parts of the light dream are starting to make more sense…maybe…

Now, I need to warn you. I have finals this week, so I may not have time to write, but I will try.

Reviews, constructive criticisms and people going to my forum/DeviantART page get a treat…flamers would just melt them, so I won't waste any on them. Now, on to the _pretty_ (SMALL)_ list_!

Thanks to: Silent Sinner Abella, SnowWolfSpirit, ozeki, xokatherine229, aznkitty180, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, Lady Mikomi, icinnamonx3, ItaDeiPei, krazykoreangurl, A Hidden Saint and Sinner, .assassinator, & A Hidden Saint and Sinner for reviewing!


	51. Compromise

Disclaimer: ...don't make me sic the vampires on you.

**Chapter 51: Compromise**

Sakura worked on Naruto all night, and would have continued to do so into the next day if her Chakra hadn't sputtered to a bare trickle…and if a hand hadn't landed on her shoulder, she probably would have tried to continue healing him anyway. But as it was, she turned around tiredly to be met by a glowering Hiraku, '_Guess the Jutsu wore off…_' she thought tiredly as her day's work caught up to her, '_Oh well, at least Naruto is stable now…I can check back in later…_'

Sakura was so tired she couldn't even concentrate on what Hiraku was saying to her as he practically dragged her back to her room. She was sure she'd done more work in a day than this…but she couldn't remember any particular incident at the moment. As the door was closed behind her and she flopped on the bed, her last muddled thought before she fell asleep was, '_…but why is he here, and like that?_'

* * *

Hiraku stormed into the room, completely ignoring the wind that surrounded him the moment he entered, and sank into his Kekkei Genkai. The moment he entered the indescribable universe of their own making he started towards his sister, talking quickly, "Sis, we got a problem-"

Michi interrupted him blandly, "Yes, I know, your little stone was hurt."

"It's _not _a **stone**, _it's_…oh, never mind, that _ain't the point_!" Michi raised an eyebrow at her flustered brother, surprised that he hadn't gone on a rant. He ignored her, "The point is that the little lady got past the barrier that Li himself told us to make!" If they had been in the real world, Michi probably would have fallen over in shock, but as it was there was no evident sign of gravity here, so the only thing that pointed to her shock was her gaping mouth.

"She what-how? I admit that I was concentrating more on holding up the main barrier, but I wouldn't think that would cause me to be lax enough with the others for one to go down!"

Hiraku shook his head, "It wasn't your fault," he grimaced as he added, "if anyone is at fault, it's me. I should have been able to stop her, but…UGG!" he grunted angrily, though at Sakura or himself, Michi wasn't sure, "If anyone ever had doubts about her being related to Li…well, tonight would have proven even the most pig headed skeptic wrong…and I ain't even a skeptic and she felt like prove'n it to me!"

He finally took a breath, then continued his rant (at a slightly slower pace) as his sister sat back and stared, "The little lady apparently had something worked out with Konan's little sub, you know, the purple haired girl. Well, the girl somehow found out what was behind the barrier and began to tell the little lady, but then the little lady ran off as if she'd been born and raised here. I built this place and even _I_ had a hard time keeping up with her!"

Hiraku threw his hands up dramatically as he continued, "And that's not even the worst of it! I didn't figure out where she was headed until I'd already taken one step too close to the first barrier, so it deactivated and she ran past. After that I decided to use my head and made sure that the barrier on the door wouldn't budge even if I got closer; and then, do you _know _what she did?" He didn't wait for an answer, "She went and smashed right through it! How could she do that!"

Michi opened her mouth to point out that Sakura had probably awoken her father's Kekkei Genkai (considering that was the only thing they knew of that could actually break their barriers), but Hiraku didn't give her the chance, "Then she was about to open the door and I overreacted and grabbed her arm…I wasn't trying to hurt her or scare her, just trying to stop her, but she flung my hand off of her and used that weird Hoshi thingy on me…the one that freezes you in place, and-"

Michi finally decided to just clamp a hand over her brothers flapping mouth. She knew from past experience that once he got on a roll, nothing short of duck tape or (in cases where duck tape wasn't available) a well placed hand could stop him. She waited for him to stop making noises before she spoke calmly, "So…the point is that she found out?" Hiraku nodded sullenly.

"Well, you _do _know that I told both you _and _her father from the start that I didn't think your little plan of 'keep away' was a good idea. I _told _you that it was likely that she'd find a way to find out anyway…she is her father's daughter after all. I believe I also warned you that you were underestimating her, thinking that she'd not be able to come to terms with…_things_…and awaken her Shihaigan for at least another year. Really, I've only met her once, and I can read her better than you!"

Hiraku muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "Yeah, because you're a girl." Needless to say that after _that _remark, he was left nursing a nice big lump on his head.

Michi glared at her brother, but decided that one lump was enough of a warning, so instead of continuing on the subject, she asked, "So, now what are you going to do, dear brother?"

Her brother sat down indignantly, his hands flying to his head as he pulled his hair childishly "I don't know! I can't think about much other than that Li is going to kill me when he finds out!"

Michi sighed, thinking, '_He's annoying enough with his everyday nonchalance that I forget how much worse he is once he gets on a roll._' She then patted her brother on the head, "Oh, stop moping. Yes, Li will be angry, but he won't kill you…at least, I don't think he will."

"_Thanks_." The sarcasm was evident.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If it will make you feel better, I'll speak to him latter on your behalf. But for now, you need to get your head out of the clouds and think of what you're going to do about the situation at hand…because I'm not going to do _that _for you."

* * *

When Sakura woke up, she felt drained, as if she hadn't slept at all. '_I over did it…and I probably need some sun._' She slowly got up and dressed, then went to her door. It was locked. Sakura angrily knocked on the door, but got no response. If she hadn't been so tired, she probably would have attempted knocking the door down, but as it was she didn't have the energy to do so. Instead she grabbed the journal and sat down on a chair to read.

Sakura wasn't sure how much time she'd spent reading and how much time she'd spent nodding off, but after a while, she finally heard the lock click. She jerked awake, having just enough time to straighten her posture before the door opened and Hiraku walked in almost sheepishly. Sakura glared at him. He held up both hands as if to say he was unarmed, "Little Lady, I'm sorry you're unhappy, but-"

Sakura cut him off, not really in the mood to dance around the matter, "I can figure out on my own why I wasn't told. You had your orders, didn't you?" Hiraku nodded. "I thought so. Now, I'm guessing that if I tried to return to Naruto, you'd try to stop me again because of those orders, correct?" Another nod, "Fine, then let me speak with Li."

Hiraku tried to argue, but Sakura stood up, ignoring the weight on her shoulders. "There's no point in me arguing with the middle man, Hiraku. You'll follow your orders no matter what I say, so I'll have to get your orders changed. Otherwise you'll just be a hindrance. Now, let me speak with my father." If Sakura hadn't been so tired, angry, and desperate, she probably would have refrained from being so blunt; but she was, so she didn't.

What she didn't know, however, was that it was her bluntness that made up Hiraku's mind. She had unknowingly acted the part of the heir, from her direct words to her haughty stance…and that made him feel the need to obey. He just didn't know that they came from her fighting the desire to fall back asleep rather than her having taken up her mantle. "Yes, Lady Sakura." Sakura was too tired to twitch.

She followed him unquestioningly through the hallways, not even speaking up when she noticed they were heading towards the room Michi had been in. She already knew that she wouldn't be speaking with her father in person, since he was no longer here, so it made sense that Michi would have the way to contact him; though, that may have just been her fatigued mind trying to make sense of things.

When they entered the odd universe, the first thing Sakura noticed was that Michi was looking at a screen with such attention that she didn't even notice their appearance. Hiraku walked over and tapped his sister on the shoulder, causing her to jump and hit him on the head by reflex. She was about to say something to him when she caught sight of Sakura. She paled, caught her brother's eye, then returned her gaze to Sakura and slowly nodded. Hiraku motioned for Sakura to join them. She slowly obliged, trying not to drag her feet on her way over.

Sakura looked directly at the screen, not surprised at all to find her father already on it. Maybe it was her exhaustion, but she didn't even think to ask if he could hear her, she just spoke bluntly to the screen, "I want you to say that I am allowed to help Naruto."

Her father's face didn't change, and for once, Sakura's muddled mind couldn't read beyond his mask. She wanted to shake her head to clear it, but she didn't want to seem as if she were contradicting herself, so she just straightened her posture, hoping that would help, even a little bit. Her father's mouth twitched, perhaps having noticed her movement, perhaps for some other reason, but once again, to Sakura's annoyance, she couldn't understand what it stood for.

When he spoke, she didn't hear him with her ears, but in her head. Even this, however, wasn't enough to brake her lethargic composure. '_It's a good thing I read lips, Sakura. Oh, and the answer is no._' Sakura glared at him, mentally willing for him to change his mind. He chuckled, '_For not knowing what you're doing, you're doing it very well, but the answer is still no. I can't let you interfere with our retrieval of the nine-tails._' Sakura thought she heard a sigh in his thoughts as he continued, '_I knew you'd get worked up over this…that is why I didn't want you to know…though I see that didn't work out._'

"_You think I'll just sit back and let you kill my best friend_?" Sakura wasn't sure if she said it out loud or not, but she said it with a glare.

There was another sigh, then, '_Sakura, you're still young…you don't understand the importance of obtaining all the tailed beasts. With them under our control, we can create a world with-_' Sakura interrupted.

'_That's all you care about, isn't it? The nine-tails? What about Naruto?_' This time she knew she wasn't speaking out loud, because she couldn't get her voice to work, and even if she could, she had the feeling that she wouldn't have succeeded in raising her voice beyond the bare minimal. She gulped as she fought tears, '_Does his life mean nothing to you?_' She read the answer on his face, '_Well I won't stand for it! I…I'll, I'll find a way to save him…somehow._'

Her father didn't say anything right away, perhaps watching as a tear that escaped her control trickled down her cheek, or perhaps thinking about what to say next. One way or the other, he eventually said slowly, '_I see…you _are _just like your mother._' Sakura couldn't muster up the strength to twitch at that comparison. '_I want the nine-tails which resides in the boy. You want the boy to live. Since neither of us are willing give in and let the other win, let's compromise._'

He paused, as if gauging his thoughts, then said, '_You've already healed the boy enough that he'll live through the process, so I won't give you permission to heal him any more. However, as things stand, he'll die anyway when the nine-tails is finally removed on the third day. This is where I am giving you a chance to change his fate. If you can find a way to remove the beast, without killing the boy, in time to save him, then yes, you have my permission to do so. If you do not, then things will proceed as they are planed. Counting today, you have five days in which to find the 'cure' you desire._'

Sakura nodded wearily. It wasn't exactly what she'd call a wonder plan, but it was better than nothing. '_Agreed. Now, tell _them _that. If you don't, they'll just get in my way again._' He smirked, then turned to the twins. Sakura didn't hear what he said, but she saw them nod, and knew they'd gotten the message.

* * *

Once it was just him and Michi, Li sighed, rubbed his head tiredly, then said, '_That girl…she really loves to pry into my plans, trying to change them…and she's probably angry at me._'

Michi nodded and said bluntly, "Most definitely." She ignored his sigh of exasperation as she added, "You know, Li…she probably wouldn't have been so angry if you had explained it to her in the first place. That, and if you had explained why you let him get into that condition in the first place."

Li plastered on a smile, '_Yeah, probably, but she most likely wouldn't understand the need for me to suppress all of the boy's Chakra, thus stopping the nine-tails from healing him. She's too attached to him to think rationally._'

Michi nodded, she'd thought the same thing. After a short silence, she said lightly, "Well, at least one good thing has come out of this." One look from Li was all it took for her to explain, "After all, she seems to have come to terms with who she is. She spoke directly to us like our superior, as she should, and she also must have come to terms with what Uchiha did, since her Shihaigan seems to have awoken. So that's actually two good things sprung from one bad. I'd say that's a good trade, wouldn't you?"

Li's expression didn't change as he answered, 'No…because this 'trade' has given me a headache. Now, I need to go back to work. It's hard enough to hold down so many people's Chakra at once…and even twice as hard when one is a tailed-beast.'

* * *

As Sakura and Hiraku walked down the hall, her mind was abuzz with thoughts of where to try to find her 'cure'. The best place would probably be the library. She could get her cousins to help her find books that could possibly hold the answer. She'd have to also ask for Hiraku to return Ayaka to her. She didn't need to ask him to know that he'd removed Ayaka from her post due to her involvement the night before. Now that he had his new orders, that shouldn't cause a problem. Also, she'd have to make sure to ask if there were any other rooms in the place that could hold the information she sought.

Not once did she even contemplate going back to sleep.

* * *

There, another chapter down. I'm really sorry for the long wait, but I had finals, the ACT, and then a trip to California, so I only just got back. The good news is you finally get this chapter...the bad news is that I haven't even begun the next chapter and I have busy weeks up ahead. I'll try to update on Saturday, but there's a high likelihood that I won't be able to. If not, then next Saturday. Once again, I'm really sorry.

Reviews. Constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page are welcome to meet my vampire friend from Halloween. Flamers, however, are welcome …it's just that if they actually come, they'll be the main course. Now, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: ozeki, Selene98, knightchaser, ItaDeiPei, Cster, LovelyLittleAngel144, Okinawa Angel, Ally (thank you), xoBreathe (he's not necessarily dead yet), .assassinator, xokatherine229, Dhampire12, icinnamonx3, aznkitty180 (PM me exact questions and I will answer what I can. and yes, it was Naruto), xXSasuxSakuXx, bellacullen3, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, NightWing101, Shadow Danzer, Spirit Seer (thanks for even half a review), cherryredblossom, & flyingsnails for reviewing!


	52. Searching

Disclaimer: -knock, knock- _JUCHKO opens door to find RANDOM-FAN,_ "Hi, I was just wondering if you own-" _Door slams shut._

**Chapter 52: Searching**

By the end of the first day, Sakura had read through countless books, with nothing of importance to show for it. However, even with Ayaka and her cousins' help, she had gotten through less than a tenth of the library. There was still so much left to read and not nearly enough time to do so. It was because of that, that Sakura decided to stay in the library even after she had sent her cousins to bed (she'd tried to do the same for Ayaka, but unlike with her cousins, it didn't work).

Sakura and Ayaka read throughout the night, only taking little naps when they couldn't keep their eyes open any longer. They were so busy with searching the books that they didn't even realize it was morning until Sakura's cousins walked in, and behind them came Hiraku, carrying a tray of food. Sakura only looked away from her book long enough to take the food and thank him before she returned to reading while she ate; Ayaka followed suite.

The young Hoshi's didn't bat an eye at the lack of conversation. They understood how important this was to Sakura, and they were wiling to help their Pillar however they could, so they had skimmed books. However, Noya had noticed a problem. Almost all of the books Sakura and Ayaka had pulled out as possibilities were beyond the twins' reading ability, and only slightly fewer of them were beyond his capability.

And so, he decided he'd continue reading the books while having the twins work on decoding the journal. After all, they weren't sure what all was in the journal, and for all they knew, it may hold the answers they were seeking. There was another thing they'd tried to do on behalf of their Pillar's goal, and that was try to ask Hiraku to let Sakura go outside so that she could go to the Knowing (since her tool for getting there was apparently the stars, just as the twins' father's had been a crystal orb). However, that attempt had failed. Hiraku refused to let Sakura go out when they had just been attacked by Grass ninja.

The hours flew by, and soon it was almost lunchtime. Noya took a moment to rest his eyes, glancing around the room. Sakura and Ayaka were continuing to read, unaware of the time. The twins were getting antsy…and by the looks of it, Inuka was thinking about getting some food while Hanako was itching to try out something she'd learned from the journal. Noya sighed and was just about to close his book when the doors to the Library were opened, and not by Hiraku, either. It was Itachi.

All three of them froze, watching discreetly as he made his way across the room. However, Ayaka barely glanced up at him before returning to her book…and Sakura didn't look up at all, though whether that was due to not noticing him or ignoring him, Noya couldn't tell. Itachi, however, continued to approach them, obviously not minding that they weren't paying him any heed. He had almost reached them when he was forced stop as a kunai flew towards his head.

He caught it effortlessly, not even bothering to glare at Sakura, who had yet to even look up from her book. "What kind of greeting was that, Sakura?"

Sakura read a few more lines before slowly setting down her book. As she looked at Itachi, her eyes were steely. "Ayaka, take my cousins to their room and get them lunch." She didn't need to explain why, she knew Ayaka would understand. Ayaka, of course, did as Sakura asked immediately, and soon it was just the two of them.

Sakura waited a few moments after the door closed before speaking quietly, though not without force, "You never told me Naruto was here! Did you think I'd just stand by and let him die?" Sakura paused, but Itachi didn't say anything.

Sakura stood up and took a few steps towards him, "The least you could have done was give me a hint! If you had, I would have been able to start this search weeks ago! But no! Now Naruto's life is hanging by a thread, and I have less than a week to save him! You should have told me outright, or warned me, or _something_!" Sakura curled her hands into fists to hide their shaking as she almost shouted, "Why didn't you!"

There was a long silence as Itachi fingered the kunai she had thrown at him, studying her intently. He noted her attempt to disguise her shaking hands as well as her pale skin and the bags that were beginning to form under her eyes. Finally he said, monotone, "Because I knew you'd react like this."

"Of course I would; your hiding it only makes things worse! How do you think I feel, knowing that my boyfriend was going to let my best friend die!" Itachi didn't say anything, just looked at her emotionlessly. "You don't even care that you sentenced Naruto to death, do you?"

There was barely a pause before Itachi said harshly, "No, I don't. He was my target, you know that." Sakura was taken aback. He watched as her face paled, making her flushed cheeks standout. Itachi's eyes narrowed, "Grow up, Sakura, this is the real world. Ninja follow their orders and kill their enemies; that, or they are killed. There _is _no middle ground." He watched as her face flushed even more and her fists began to visibly shake; however, he couldn't gauge if this was a sign that the truth was dawning on her, or that she was about to retaliate.

Her shaking hands clinched together even tighter than before, and for a moment Itachi thought she might try to hit him. Instead she spun around angrily so she wouldn't have to look at him as she spoke, "Maybe that is the way things are, and maybe you're fine with it , but I'm not!" The shaking was beginning to spread from her fists, up her arms, to her shoulders as she continued.

"I've never been able to follow all one hundred rules of shinobi conduct to a T…because I've never been able to ignore my emotions…and maybe that's the reason I've never been the best ninja, but…" The shaking became more prominent as she continued, "…but I don't mind. As long as I'm strong enough to protect those I care about, I don't need to be 'the best'"

Sakura paused, then said quietly, "…and right now, the only answer I can find is to take up my father's wager…and so I'll do whatever it takes to beat the clock. Call me foolish if you want to. Say I'm dreaming a childish dream, but…" She started walking back towards her book, "…I don't want…to have to l-" Sakura cut herself off as she sat down and picked up her book.

As she searched for her place, she said, "I suppose it doesn't matter if it's just a…a dream…or not. I'll succeed or I'll…" Sakura's voice threatened to crack, "I'll succeed…there is no other option." Her eyes scurried down the page, searching for the proper line. Without looking up, and without asking, she knew instinctively that Itachi had somewhere he had to go, so she said, "Please tell the others that they can come back once they've finished lunch."

Itachi didn't respond, and all she heard were his feet treading nearly silent across the floor. As she began to read, she expected him to leave as silently as he had come, however, he didn't. As she heard the door open, she also heard Itachi's voice say quietly, "Don't forget to take care of yourself." Then the door closed, and she was alone. One hand strayed to her necklace, and as she continued reading, she mentally noted that he had taken her kunai with him.

* * *

All three Hoshi's had eaten as quickly as possible, then returned to the journal, hoping to find something useful. Noya flipped through the pages, trying to find where they had left off, when a drawing caught his eye. Noya held his breath as he looked at the page he had randomly turned to. There was a drawing on both pages, a title, and then a lot of writing underneath the drawings. One was a drawing of eyes that had no pupils, and had vein like things popping out from the sides, while the other…was a drawing of the Hoshi Eyes.

Noya instantly investigated, and soon he'd been able to pick out enough words to tell that this passage held information on what the Hoshi's Eyes could do…but some of what he'd read, he'd never heard of before. '_This means…_' he thought as he flipped a few more pages to find other drawings similar to the other two, '_She needs to see this!_'

Noya was about to announce to the twins what he'd found, when Inuka, who was staring out the window, said in a quiet voice, "You guys, I've been thinking, and…" She turned, her face showing deep concern. Noya and Hanako shared a glance, it was abnormal for Inuka to be anything but chipper. "Is it just me, or has Lady Sakura not moved from the library…or been upstairs for…a while?"

It took them a moment to understand, but when they did, they instantly paled. If Sakura hadn't been upstairs, then Sakura couldn't be getting Nature's Light; and if she wasn't getting Nature's Light, then…things could take a turn for the worst. As the severity of the situation settled upon them, silence overtook them.

Hanako was the first to come out of her stupor, and after a few more moments of thoughtful silence, she broke the other two out of their stupors by saying, "We know we'll never be able to make Lady Sakura abandon her books to come up here for Nature's Light, so…If she won't come to Nature's Light, we'll have to do what we can to bring Nature's Light to her."

Inuka blurted out, "But how are we going to do that? It's not like we can just pick up the sun and bring it down to her!"

Noya, having understood what Hanako had meant, waved his finger at her, "Inuka, think! What is it that will allow us to bring even a little of Nature's Light to Lady Sakura?"

Inuka thought, and finally it dawned on her, but as it did, it sparked something else as well, "But that's not good enough, is it? She won't survive forever with just _that_."

This time Hanako answered her sister as she started to drag her towards the door, "True, it's only a temporary solution. However, this way, at least we won't be going against her wishes…and she shouldn't die." Hanako opened the door just in time to see the edge of a robe disappear silently around a far corner. Ignoring that, she turned to Ayaka to place her request.

* * *

Sakura had just finished the last book in her stack and was about to go look for more books when she heard the doors to the library open, and four sets of feet heading in her direction. Sakura picked up the books she'd finished with and deposited them in the quickly expanding pile on the floor. She then turned to greet her cousins and couldn't help noticing that each held a candle, as did Ayaka who came behind them. However, Sakura shrugged the oddity off; more light when you were reading never hurt anyone.

They set their burdens down around the room, then hurried to her, handing her the open journal. Noya spoke for them, "Lady Sakura, we found a passage in here about our Eyes, and from what I've been able to read, it may hold something that could help you."

Sakura thanked him, then turned to Ayaka, "Could you please pull out more books while we work on this." Ayaka just nodded and moved to a distant bookcase. Sakura then sat down and her cousins settled around her to look at what was written on the page.

Finally they worked out what was written. Most of it were things they already knew, however, there were a few things that Sakura hadn't known. For some reason, the part that stood out to her was about Hoshi's in general, rather than what Hoshi's were capable of. It read: _The Hoshi are a docile people, and it is said that some of them can make other creatures calm, and even obedient, with their gentleness. However, not all Hoshi's have this innate ability, and not all discover that they do until very late in life. Of course, as with many Hoshi abilities, this awakes with the Hoshi's Awakening, though it is possible that it will never be utilized._

It went on to say much more, but this part stood out, though Sakura couldn't guess as to why. Sakura stopped thinking about the passage, however, when she noticed the picture on the opposite page for the first time. It was a drawing of the Byakugan, no doubt about it, but why…Sakura flipped the page, then continued flipping the pages. There were thirty eight pages with drawings, and not just with eye abilities, but other Kekkei Genkai as well.

Sakura looked up from the journal as a thump sounded on the table near her. She turned to her left, and found Ayaka had dumped a pile of books on her table. Ayaka gave her a smile, then took one of the books, sat down, and started reading, reminding Sakura that that was what she should be doing as well. The journal may have been interesting, however it could wait, these books could not. She handed the journal to her cousins, then got back to work.

Time flew by, and finally Sakura tore her eyes from the book she had just finished; she glanced up wearily, thinking absentmindedly that she needed a new pile of books, when something caught her eye. All around the empty room there were candles. She was too tired to come up with the reason why her cousins would feel a need to do something like this, but none the less she could tell that they were trying to help her.

Sakura couldn't stop a tired smile from spreading across her face as she stood up and went in search of more books.

* * *

There, I know it's a little short…and maybe choppy, but at least I was able to finish it in time to update.

Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting to say this, but in case you didn't already know, I try to keep the top of my Profile relatively well updated on how things are coming along. I also try to post if I will be unable to update. So, if you are wondering when the next chapter will be posted, look there.

Once again I can't promise to be able to update next Saturday, but I will try.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum/DeviantART account are welcome to have some cyber-gum…flamers, on the other hand, will be left out in the cold. Now, on to the** SHORT** _pretty list_!

Thanks to: xoBreathe, bellacullen3, flyingsnails (its your choice), Crimson Eyed Sakura, ItaDeiPei (that will be adressed later), xokatherine229, ozeki, Okinawa Angel, 321noeoen123, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, .assassinator, Hao'sAnjul (I never told about the fight in detail, I only mentioned it), (I hope you get better soon), & Uchiha :] for reviewing!


	53. Finding

Disclaimer: -knock, knock- _JUCHKO opens door to find RANDOM-FAN-II_ "Hello, I was just wonder-" _Door slams shut…again_

**Chapter 53: Finding**

Hiraku and Michi sat in their indescribable universe, watching the multiple screens and talking. "You know, Hiraku, that this whole mess may have been evaded if we hadn't had to wait to seal the nine-tails in last." Michi said carefully as she looked at the screen that showed what Sakura was doing in the library.

Surprisingly, Hiraku didn't get mad, though he did get defensive, "I know, I'm worried about the little Miss too, but it couldn't be avoided. I tried every possible thing I could think of to fix the problem with the statue, but none of them worked; so we were stuck with a statue that would fall off balance if we added the nine-tails before all the others were sealed."

Michi said in a voice that was failing to be calming, "If that's the best you could do, then that's the best you could do…I suppose."

Hiraku glared at his sister, "Thanks, sis..."

Michi nodded as if Hiraku's voice hadn't been laden with sarcasm, "You're welcome...you know, it's also too bad that they had to go so far away to seal the boy...she would have had more time if he hadn't had to have been moved so far away."

"Hiraku growled, "I know, I know! I did what I could, but our barrier interferes with the sealing, so it _had_ to be moved elsewhere!"

"Whatever you say...my dear, lazy, brother.", Michi paused, then asked quietly, changing the subject, "Hey…do you think she'll succeed?"

It took a moment for Hiraku to understand the question, "No…I created the statue to hold those tailed beasts, and I've seen what it does…I really don't think she'll be able to do anything about it." He paused, then shrugged, "But if she does, I wouldn't be overly surprised. After all, she is Li's daughter…and they both like to do what others say is impossible. And Li, I know, tends to show people that the impossible can be done…so why wouldn't his daughter do the same?"

"You're right about that, at least. Oh, and brother, have you rewired those _things_, yet?" The flush on her brothers' face was all the answer she needed, "You'd better get to them soon…don't look at me like that. You know just as well as I do that they are an important part of our security system. Puppy-dog eyes won't work either, Hiraku. Quit procrastinating…or would you rather I set a fire under your tail, eh, little doggy?"

Hiraku bristled, and may have said something, if a loud sound hadn't come from one of the screens. He turned to look at the picture of outside, thinking maybe the sound had been thunder, however the full moon shone brightly through the clear sky. There wasn't a cloud to be found, and he still had a question without an answer.

Michi broke the silence, "It was probably nothing…but just to be safe, you should go check it out. I doubt the Grass ninja would dare return, but you never know…and it may be some other ninja who don't know of the Grass ninja's defeat.

* * *

Sakura had just finished what felt like her fifty-thousandth book. She knew neither the time nor the date; however, she did know her time couldn't be up, since no one had told her that it was…and since failure wasn't an option. Sakura wearily moved her blurry eyes around the candle filled room, but found no one. That probably meant that it was nighttime and that they had gone to bed…good…they needed their sleep.

Sakura closed her eyes, then rubbed them. However, when she opened them again, they were no less blurry. '_I suppose I've been reading too much…but I can't stop now._' Her hand reached out jerkily to where her pile of unread books was to be. There was only one, and it was much farther than it should have been. Sakura stretched her arm out across the table, dragging the large book over to her.

She then rubbed her eyes again with one hand while the other sought to open the book. Her fingers unintentionally found a piece of paper marking a specific page. Without having even looked for the title of the book, Sakura flipped to the marked page, staring hard, trying to get her eyes to focus. When finally they did, Sakura knew instantly which book this was both due to the drawing style and the language.

It was the journal, and the page that had been marked held a black and white drawing of eyes that looked just like Pein's. '_The Shihaigan…_' Ignoring her fatigue, Sakura squinted at the writing, '_They must have found something…then marked it and left it for me to get to…so I should probably read this before I go find more books._' As Sakura started to decipher the first line, she added, '_Besides, it can't hurt to know more about a Kekkei Genkai I am supposed to have._'

* * *

Ayaka sat tiredly beside the entrance to the library, book in hand. Hiraku had come to speak with her hours ago. He'd gotten word of a disturbance near the clearing, and was going to check it out. He'd said that he really doubted that the Grass ninja would have been stupid enough to return, however he felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. It was for that same reason that he told her to stand watch outside the library's only entrance.

Ayaka had, of course, obeyed her orders, however she had also snuck out a book with her, so that she could continue to research. After all, no one would be coming. Even if the disturbances really were Grass ninja, Hiraku would be able to take care of them like he had before; therefore, there really was no threat. The only possible treat was that Sakura would notice she was missing, and get angry, thinking that she had ignored her duty to Sakura in order to sleep (as any other sane person would be, this time of night).

However, that was an unlikely threat. Sakura hadn't even noticed her cousins leave and return countless times the day before and today to bring more candles to the library. She had also never noticed their departure to bed, nor Hiraku appearing, _nor _both of their departures after his appearance. Thus it was safe to assume that Sakura wouldn't notice. And if she did, Ayaka hoped that having brought a book out with her would be proof that she hadn't been slacking.

* * *

When Sakura finished with decoding the passage, her heart started beating in her throat as she read it in its entirety. _The Shihaigan is, when activated, recognizable by the bands of different colors around the eye. However, the Shihaigan is very different from most Kekkei Genkai in several ways. For one, the number and colors of the rings differ from one person to another, and for another, the Shihaigan always shares the person's body with one other Kekkei Genkai. This second Kekkei Genkai can be inherited from either parent._

_Like some other Kekkei Genkai, the Shihaigan is awakened through stages (to be brief: giving birth willingly and wanting the child coupled with being okay with a massacre in your name). The Shihaigan can not be effectively controlled until one set or the other is completed. Once the second set is completed, the person's ability increases. In a few rare incidences, the Shihaigan and its sister Kekkei Genkai have been known to 'combine', for lack of a better word, for a short amount of time. The causes/effects of this, however, can not be properly documented due to a lack of known cases._

_The Shihaigan user (called such because of the fact that there is no 'clan' that possesses the Shihaigan, due to the fact that the Shihaigan users rarely intermarry, and usually take on the name of their parent that did not have the Shihaigan) is capable of controlling things that have no life, and never have been considered alive. The ones that come to mind first include rocks and water. However, a Shihaigan user who is strong and knowledgeable would be capable of delving deeper than just the basic four elements. _

_Now, I have already said that the Shihaigan does not work on the living, however, that is only partially true. It is true that the living thing could not be controlled, however, that does not mean that the Shihaigan can do nothing to the living. A good example is that, though it would be incapable of stopping blood from flowing, it could stop the oxygen from entering the blood. On the other hand, it could also force carbon dioxide out of a suffocating blood stream and oxygen in._

_Another case that is important to mention is that a Shihaigan user can, to a point, control the Chakra of others. This is because, despite the fact that Chakra is only found in living things, it itself is not alive, and thus can be controlled. However, Chakra, due to its connection to the living, is very difficult for even the strongest Shihaigan user to control. Most are only capable of repressing others' Chakra slightly, though there are some who are strong enough to completely suppress another's Chakra, and there are even a few who can actually use the other's Chakra, not just suppress it. These, luckily, are very few._

_There is one other case that is important to document concerning Shihaigan users, and that concerns things that are lifelike, yet not alive. I am not talking about dolls when I say 'lifelike'. The word is being used in reference to things that have a semblance of life, yet on their own, do not die of old age (they may not even age). The best known of these would be what most people call demons. _

_It is believed that because demons (and other such creatures) do not have a 'lifespan' as other living things do, they are not technically alive, and that that is why Shihaigan users can have an influence on the demon itself. However, it is also believed that its semblance of life is what makes it so that no matter how strong the Shihaigan user is, they will never be able to fully control it. There are others, though, that say they can not be controlled fully due to the fact that they have their own powers. That they tend to be vicious and stubborn, and that because of this, they will fight an oppressor with everything they have, not even caring if it costs them, or others, their lives._

Sakura was shaking as she put the old tome down, her mind racing. She had read something about that last part before, but where? It hadn't been recently that she'd read it either, of that she was sure. Suddenly Sakura's worn out mind found the answer. It had been a week or two ago, in a book, not about healing or demons, but about tools. Sakura shot up out of her chair, then had to grab the chair as her world spun. She took this as merely being a sign that she'd stood up too quickly.

She waited only long enough for the spinning to subside enough that she could walk without falling over before wobbly heading towards a distant bookcase. If she remembered correctly, the book had been near the top of the bookcase. Sakura looked around the still spinning room until she found the ladder, and then she dragged it over to the appropriate bookcase. As she ascended the ladder, Sakura fought with her disorientation.

* * *

Noya sat in a corner, blocking the light from the candle with his body so that the light wouldn't awaken the twins. In his hand, he held the piece of paper on which he had written down something odd he had found on the last page of the journal. Like everything else in the journal, it was written in the Ancient language; however, the writing symbols used were of the oldest (and hardest to decipher) that ever existed.

That was why he had written it down and taken it up with them to bed. He hadn't told the twins about it, though, because he hadn't been sure if it was really of any importance. If it wasn't important, then there was no need for all of them to lose sleep over it. He had waited for the twins to fall asleep on Inuka's bed, before he got up to start working on the piece.

After countless hours of work, he had a basic idea of what the piece said. However, he wasn't sure that all the words he'd come up with were correct. The one thing he was sure of, though, was that this was a prophecy. There could be no other explanation for the way things were worded and the drawing that had been underneath the piece in the journal. He hadn't copied down the drawing, however, so he couldn't use that to help explain the prophecy. Noya looked down at the translation he'd written underneath the transposed symbols and read what he'd come up with.

_The blood that blossoms,_

_bound in truth;_

_lies foretold_

_in homeroom. _

_catastrophics left unsaid, _

_breath held until the end._

_The blood that blossoms _

_from the roots, _

_cometh forth _

_from new shoots. _

_Shoots and roots interwound, _

_death defying without a sound._

_The blood that blossoms, _

_bound in truth, _

_after eighth bud institute, _

_return to roots _

_soon will come, _

_once the phoenix game is done._

It was prophetic, but what did it mean? Noya had no clue.

* * *

When she finally found the book, Sakura didn't wait; she opened it while standing precariously on the ladder. She found her page, and squinted to read the few (still spinning) lines that had spurred her search: '_No matter the tool used in removing a demon from its host, the host will sadly die. This is because the demon will fight the tool ferociously, and in the process will tear apart the soul, and sometimes body, of the host._' Her heart was beating abnormally fast.

As Sakura stared at the two lines, she felt, both mentally and physically, as if her world were in a torrent. As she attempted to read the ever blurring (and spinning) lines again, the pieces began to click into place, and a plan to save Naruto started to form in her worn out mind. "Finally," she muttered exhausted, looking up from the book. It was then that her failing eyes caught sight of two red pinpricks in a sea of black near the library door.

Sakura felt her blood drain from her face as she murmured, "I-Itachi?" frightfully. She felt a torrent of emotions and thoughts overwhelm her. If Itachi had returned, that meant that she was too late. If she was too late, that would mean that Naruto…was…she had…caused his…death. These thoughts, and the emotions they caused, coupled with her severe exhaustion were too much for her body to cope with.

The spinning world shrank to a pinprick, and then to nothingness. The last thing she noticed was that she was falling.

* * *

There, an evil cliffhanger…again…don't you love them? (a rhetorical question) What will happen to Sakura? Is Naruto dead? What about Sasuke? (not rhetorical questions) And possibly the most important question: Will Hiraku every stop being so lazy? (rhetorical…I'm pretty sure we all know the answer to that one)

Ok, I have a poll up on my portfolio, and I really need people to give me their answer, otherwise I won't know what to do. Also, I'm at Nebraskon right now, so...we'll see about the next chapter...I'll try.

Reviews…yeah, the same as always (do you people even read these? (NOT rhetorical)) Anyways, to the _pretty list _we go!

Thanks to: .Takai, xokatherine229, .assassinator (tryong to be a switzerland?), xXxCici-chanxXxDei-kunxXx, ItaDeiPei (thanks for reminding .Takai that this was still going), Okinawa Angel, xXSasuxSakuXx, bellacullen3, ozeki, 321noeoen123 (maybe...), Lady Mikomi (Itachi will get his place soon enough), xoBreathe, sabaku no hikari, Bluebarry pie (why, thank you), LadySakuraForest, & Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha for reviewing!


	54. A Supposed Rescue

Disclaimer: -knock, knock- _JUCHKO looks through a window at the door to find RANDOM-FAN-III_. -knock, knock, knock- _JUCHKO ignores the knocking._

**Chapter 54: A Supposed Rescue**

A figure ran silently through the dark forest, a smirk on his face. Sasuke looked down at the pink haired girl in his arms, and a frown crossed his face. It had been all too easy for him to get in; and thanks to the diversion he'd set up when he'd found out that the Akatsuki had left, the only thing that had barred his way was the shield that kept them invisible…and his Sharingan had been enough to deal with that.

As he'd gone through the maze-like hallways, searching for Sakura, he'd been surprised at the lack of obstacles. The whole time he'd been in there, he'd only seen one person, and the girl had been sleeping in front of the library. If she had meant to be guarding Sakura, she had failed miserably. He'd just bypassed her and entered the (oddly) candle-filled library to find Sakura standing on a ladder, looking at a book. She had mumbled something, then looked up.

He had become angry when she'd called him Itachi, but not for long. It only took him a moment to notice that when she'd called his brothers name, there had been evident fear in her voice. She was afraid of seeing his brother. That was good. Maybe she'd figured out that Itachi wasn't the same as he'd been when they were children. It had been in that same moment that he'd noticed that she didn't look well, as well as not being able to tell him from his brother.

However, he hadn't been given any more time to try to understand why Sakura was as she was, for in the next instant, she was falling. He'd caught her easily, then decided to get out of there before the purple-haired girl woke up. Now he was outside, hurrying back to the current Sound base.

Sasuke was trying not to worry about Sakura; however he couldn't help noticing that she looked deathly pale as well as…other things that looked all too familiar. Whatever it was that was wrong with her, was probably the same thing that had killed the Hoshi they'd had before…

* * *

_It took Sakura a moment to figure out why she was in Konoha…she was dreaming. She looked around as her feet automatically took her down familiar streets. She blinked, and she was no longer on the streets, but in the Hokage's tower. Tsunade looked better than she had the last time Sakura had dreamed of her, however she was still wheelchair bound._

_Only a few moments after her arrival, a knock sounded on the door, and Tsunade told Shizune to enter. Sakura watched as the young woman made her way forward, noting that the door didn't completely close behind her. She shrugged, then turned to see what this dream had in store for her. Tsunade looked up from a paper and asked gruffly, "And?"_

_Shizune squared her shoulders, holding a large pile of papers in front of her like a shield as she answered, "As you asked, Lady Tsunade, I've gone though all the rosters of available ninja, and…I've tried every possible combination, but…I can't free up enough ninja level Chunin or higher."_

_Tsunade groaned, "I'd been afraid of that." Sakura almost jumped as Tsunade let her fist come down on her desk angrily, bowing it out of shape, but luckily not braking it. "What do you have? Is there any possible way we could-?"_

_Shizune shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid not. Even stretching things as thin as I could, I could only get two free, and two just isn't enough…especially when they're both only Chunin."_

_Tsunade closed her eyes, looking as if she were about to give up on whatever it was she was so worried about, when a solid knock sounded. The door opened of it's own accord, and in the doorway stood Temari, her face serious. Tsunade motioned for her to enter, and she did so, lightly tapping the door behind her so it swung back as she'd found it._

"_Sorry to intrude, Lady Hokage, but I couldn't help overhear…I've already finished my duties here, and there's nothing too important for me to do back home, so if you need a Jonin, I could help."_

_With one hand, Tsunade rubbed her temple, obviously trying to recalculate things. "I thank you, Temari…but you may want to hear the whole situation before you sign on. It will only be you and two Chunin…everyone else either already has missions, or they are currently incapable of going on missions…and that's not even a full squad. And I'm afraid…the mission will be dangerous…it's really not something that four people should go on, let alone three. If I had my way, there'd be at least two squads, but…"_

_Tsunade shrugged, "Aside from that, I can't give you too much information on where you'd be going, or the enemies you'd have to face, because…I don't know. The mission could be as simple as a mere C ranked mission…or, if things are as bad as I think they might be…it could be as serious as an S ranked mission. Furthermore, I can't say how long the mission could last…and I wouldn't want your brother to think I was stealing you away from him."_

_Temari nodded, "As long as I write him, he won't care. And so long as I'm back within the month, I have no qualms with offering you my services."_

_Tsunade nodded solemnly, "Very well, if you accept, you'll lead the other two,"_

_Shizune piped up, "Ino and Tenten."_

_Tsunade continued, "You'll be in charge of Ino and Tenten. Your mission will have two parts: to see if a rumor that pertains to one of our ninja is true, and to see if you can find, and if need be, rescue, Naruto." The look on Temari's face showed that she hadn't known that Naruto was missing. "We don't know if the idiot left the infirmary on his own, or if he was abducted while he was weak…but both are possibilities…and neither makes your mission any easier."_

_Temari nodded, but her face still showed confusion as to why Naruto's disappearance would make the mission any harder. Shizune was about to explain, when a small voice made everyone jump, "Naruto is either with Sasuke or the Akatsuki." Everyone stared at Hinata, who had somehow managed to enter the room without anyone noticing._

_Eying Hinata, Sakura noticed that she looked even paler than normal, with visible bags under her eyes. However, when she next spoke, her voice held an assured power, as if she'd already made up her mind, "I'll help." Shizune opened up her mouth to argue, but Hinata spoke quickly, "You're going after Naruto and Sakura…I'll help." Her face then turned red and her bravado slackened as she mumbled, looking at her feet, "I k-kind of o-overheard too."_

_Tsunade looked at Hinata, mumbling under her breath something that sounded like, 'We need to get that door fixed'. As Tsunade continued to study her, Hinata looked up, trying not to let her gaze waver. Finally Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair, "Well, I can't complain, can I? I now have one more ninja available…just enough to make a typical four person squad." _

_Tsunade then turned to Temari, "Go find the other two, then meet back here in one hour for a full debriefing." Temari nodded, then turned around to leave. Hinata was about to follow after her, when Tsunade said quietly to her, "It's good to have you back, Hinata." Hinata blushed, nodded, then ran to catch up to Temari, who was already halfway out the door._

_When the door closed as much as it would behind them, Shizune sighed, "I'm glad…she looks better. It must have been so hard on her, having to keep his disappearance a secret."_

_Tsunade nodded, shuffling the papers on her desk, "Yes, it would have been better if it had been someone else, anyone else…but no…the first person to find out he'd vanished just had to be the one girl who'd…well, never mind that."_

_Shizune nodded, finally depositing the papers on Tsunade's desk, "It's too bad we had to keep his disappearance secret." Tsunade gave her a look, but she just shrugged, "I'm just saying that she may have recovered faster if she'd been able to explain why she was so depressed…but I also know that that would not have been a good thing for us to let happen."_

_Tsunade grunted, "That's an understatement! If we announced that he'd vanished, rather than say that he was too sick to see visitors…the whole village would have been in an uproar. It would have just been a repeat of what happened when Sasuke abandoned the village…only Sasuke didn't have the village elders griping about him falling into the 'wrong hands'!" _

_From under the table, a bottle mysteriously appeared, and before Shizune could do anything about it, it's contents had disappeared just as magically as it had appeared. "Lady Tsunade!"_

_Sakura watched as Tsunade set down the bottle, saying defensively, "You'd drink too if you were in my shoes."_

"Yes, but-_**No**__, but…" The dream faded away before Sakura heard the rest._

* * *

Sakura began to open her eyes, then immediately closed them again…it was bright out! It took another moment for her to register that she was being held, and that they were moving quickly through the chilly air. Sakura continued to pretend to be asleep, her mind racing to remember what had happened. She'd been in the library, then…she'd seen Sharingan before fainting…but why would Itachi be carrying her around, outside no less? Itachi would never take her out alone, so why-

If Sakura hadn't remembered that she was supposed to be sleeping, she'd have squeaked. She'd seen Sharingan…but Itachi wasn't the only one with the Sharingan…Sasuke had them as well. '_But why's Sasuke…?_' She didn't even know how to end that thought. Was he rescuing her? Was he kidnapping her? What could she call this? And why would he be-

A sudden thought jolted Sakura. She'd already figured out they were outside, but she hadn't put two and two together…if they were outside, that meant they were leaving the Akatsuki hideout, and if they were leaving the Akatsuki hideout, that meant that she was getting farther away from Naruto.

Sakura didn't try to hide that she was awake anymore, she just opened her eyes, raising one arm to block the sun for a moment before they moved into a shadow. She looked up at Sasuke, her eyes adjusting to the light of day. He didn't look at her, but Sakura knew that he knew she was awake. "Sa-Sasuke?" Sakura blushed as her quiet voice cracked. He didn't respond.

Sakura cleared her throat, then tried again in a slightly louder voice, "What are you doing?" She paused, then added, looking around, "And where are we?"

There was a long silence, and just when Sakura had given up on him answering her, he said simply, "Rescuing you." He didn't address her second question.

Mentally Sakura shook her head, she didn't have time to try to explain to him that she didn't need rescuing; she had to get back. However, common sense told her that Sasuke wouldn't be willing to let her return…so she'd have to use her acting skills…but first, she needed to get back on her own two feet. "Uh, Sasuke…?" he didn't answer, "Would you please put me down;" she hastened to add, "I need to use the restroom." It was true, too.

He grunted, but slowed down anyways; as he did so, Sakura noted that her world was still swaying, though it was much better than it had been last time she'd been conscious. However, it still took all her concentration once her feet were on the ground not to fall. She knew instantly that she wouldn't be able to escape, at least not yet…but what could she do? She had a deadline, and she could only hope it hadn't already passed.

* * *

As Sakura stepped out from behind the tree, she asked, "How long have I been unconscious?" It was weak, but she couldn't think of any other way to delay their departure. She didn't want to get any farther away from Naruto.

Sasuke didn't answer right away, but finally he said, "About ten hours."

Sakura almost fell over in disbelief. "Ten hours!" she repeated quietly to herself, shocked. Her mind raced as she tried to figure things out how much time she had left. '_Shoot…I can't remember how many days exactly have gone by! I know it's been more than two days…so it's been at lest three…but how many days do I have left? How many hours? Is Naruto even still-_' she didn't allow herself to finish that thought.

Sakura took a step back instinctively, into the light, as Sasuke's shadow fell over her. She looked at him curiously, wondering why he'd taken a step closer to her, then figuring that it was because she'd spaced out. "Sorry…I just…didn't think I'd been asleep that long." as she said this, she mentally noted that her world felt more solid in the sun. Trying to delay them even more, she began, "I don't know why I…"

She trailed off, she hadn't even been thinking about why she'd fainted. She'd pushed it aside as just being because she'd not eaten or slept for a while…but ten hours? Would she really have had to sleep that long to recover from just that? No. As she became more aware of her surroundings and more sure of her footing, a thought hit her. She looked up, and everything became clear.

"The sun…", she mumbled, feeling stronger with every breath, "…that's why…" She had forgotten all about needing Nature's Light.

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura jumped, she'd already forgotten that she wasn't alone. '_I must still be half asleep._' Looking at Sasuke once more, she said, taking a few more steps back so that she was completely doused with light. "I keep forgetting I'm not so much a Haruno as I am a Hoshi." Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she noticed that she was beginning to feel as if she had never collapsed. '_I may not need to stall much longer…I just need to be strong enough to escape if he doesn't let me leave._'

Sakura couldn't tell if Sasuke understood or not, but to gain more time, she explained, "It's easy to forget…though I guess that's obvious…but I've learned that once a Hoshi has awoken their Eyes…we need sunlight." Well, not just sunlight, but that was close enough…and it would probably be best to leave out the 'or else we'll die' part too. She didn't need to tell him everything.

Sakura was debating whether to try to just run or to say something first when movement caught her eye. She reacted without thought, moving her hand to block whatever was coming towards her throat. To her surprise, it was Sasuke's hand. He grabbed her wrist, since it was in the way, but only applied enough pressure to move it to the side.

It only took Sakura a moment to figure out why he was looking at her throat like that. He must have seen her necklace, the one that Itachi had given her. Sakura's free hand reached up to enveloped the oval necklace as she tried to pull her other hand free. It didn't work, "Let go, Sasuke."

His grip only tightened as he said in a dangerously low voice, "Why are you still wearing that?" His other hand reached towards her. Frightened, Sakura tried to jerk out of his ever strengthening hold. There came a crack, and Sakura couldn't stop herself from gasping in pain. His grip immediately lightened and Sakura quickly pulled her wrist free, nestling it against her chest as she took a shaky step away from Sasuke.

Sakura knew she shouldn't be letting her emotions show…maybe it was because she still wasn't completely better, maybe it was because she was in shock, and maybe it was a bit of both…but she knew she was shaking. Sasuke didn't apologize, and though he was obviously still angry, he seemed to be calming down. The reason became clear as he spoke, "You don't know what that necklace really is, do you?"

Sakura didn't answer, she'd already wasted enough time, and all she'd gotten out of it was a fractured wrist; She took a step back, readying to turn and run…then almost froze up as Sasuke, having noticed what she planed, disappeared from sight. This situation was all too familiar. She'd played out a similar scenario countless times in her head, recalling the night Sasuke had left. It had been just like this…only that time she'd been the one trying to stop _him _from leaving, and now it was the other way around.

Sakura had barely come to that conclusion before she moved. Sakura knew as her body moved that it would look to Sasuke as if she'd regained her wits at the last second…but that wasn't quite the case. She truly wasn't controlling her motions. She was acting on reflex, just as she had the first time she'd fought Itachi after having been captured. The only difference was that this time she hadn't meant to.

As his hand slid past her uselessly, she couldn't help but think that her brooding over his disappearance hadn't gone to waste. She'd gone over the scene from back then so many times, thinking of what she could have done differently that she must have inadvertently programmed what to do in that situation into her body. Jumping farther away from him, she said, "That trick won't work twice, Sasuke."

"Where do you think you are going?"

It only took a moment for Sakura to decide that lying wouldn't help the situation any. So, without looking him in the eye, she answered cautiously, "I'm going back to save Naruto." He didn't need to say anything for her to know that he thought that she'd been tricked by the Akatsuki. Judging from her latest dream, he most likely thought that Naruto was still in Konoha. All she said before turning to leave was, "They have him…and if I don't get there in time, he'll die."

Sakura didn't wait for him to say anything. It was time to leave. Sakura turned around and ran as fast as she could, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't try to stop her. If he did…

'_I don't want to use any more Chakra than necessary, but,_' she clenched her fist, '_I will if I must._'

* * *

There, that time the chapter was longer than normal. Now, I wonder what you people think about how Sasuke is acting? Good, bad, in-between?

Also, as a reminder, I have a poll up on my profile. I've decided that it will close when next I update (which will, hopefully, be next Saturday), so if you haven't voted, you better get to it.

Another reminder: as soon as the appropriate chapter has been posted, there will be a very important poll. This poll will decide where exactly the story goes, so you definitely won't want to miss it.

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my Forum/DeviantART account are welcome to the platter of crackers. I don't like wasting food, however, so flamers won't be getting any. Now, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Okinawa Angel, bellacullen3, flyingsnails, ItaDeiPei, Black Fire Blossom, .Takai (It does...that's weird. I put the whole thing up. I'm sorry anyways. As to how I think this up...it's called: insomnia), hot-ninja-babe, Bluebarry Pie, xokatherine229, xXSasuxSakuXx, .assassinator (ah...isn't that the job of an author?), NightWing101, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha (thanks), doorstepofdoom (there will be more Sakura/Itachi interaction later...though whether it's good or bad interactions is up to the future vote), Hao'sAnjul (thaks), & Cster ffor reviewing!


	55. The Bones of the Deal

Disclaimer: Sorry, but I haven't seen any shooting stars around, have you?

**Chapter 55: The Bones of the Deal**

Sakura ran quickly, trying to stay in the sun as much as possible and hoping she'd leave the forest soon. '_It's a good thing I decided to try that trick that Itachi used on my necklace with my Kunai. Without it, I probably would never have been able to find my way back._'

When finally the trees started to clear she rushed forward, then stumbled as she saw where she was, or more to the point, was not. Sakura forced herself to continue running forward as she looked at her surroundings. She'd expected her link to Itachi to bring her back to the place she'd been staying at, but it hadn't. The scene ahead of her reminded her of the time they'd tried to save Gaara. A cave blocked by a boulder and a seal.

"Dang it!" She whispered as she neared. She was only one person, and this kind of seal would take many people to open, just as it had last time. What had she expected, a giant welcome sign? Sakura stopped just in front of the cause of her distress, glaring up at it. She could easily break through the rock; it was the seal that was the problem.

"How the heck am I supposed to get past this stupid s…_seal_?" Sakura whispered the last word as a thought hit her. Seals were made of Chakra, weren't they? Wasn't the Shihaigan supposed to be able to disrupt Chakra, even control it? And wasn't she supposed to have the Shihaigan? Then maybe…

Sakura closed her eyes, trying to calm her hammering heart. She had no clue how to activate her Shihaigan, let alone how to use it, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had an obstacle she had to get through.

She began with calling up the feeling she always felt when she used her Eyes. Once she had that feeling surrounding her, she slowly tried to add the feeling she'd felt when she'd broken through the barrier that had hindered her in getting to Naruto before. On top of that she added her desire to get to and save Naruto. She didn't know how long it took, but finally Sakura felt satisfied, though she couldn't say why.

Opening her eyes, Sakura took one step forward, her uninjured hand reaching out to the rock. She rested her palm on the cold boulder, acutely aware of the layer of Chakra on its surface, blocking entry. '_Open._' she felt the Chakra quiver, but hold. Sakura narrowed her eyes, then put more force into the order, '_Open!_' If what had happened to the Chakra the first time was a quiver, the second time was a quake. Still the seal held.

Sakura twitched; her hand pulled away from the rock, becoming a fist, '_Let me through the stupid rock already!_' Her fist flew towards the rock and it's undercurrent of Chakra, hoping to break both the barrier and the boulder. However, that wasn't what happened when her fist made contact. What happened was even more surprising than her wild plan going the way she'd thought it would.

Her fist hit the barrier of Chakra and rock at full speed, however her fist met very little resistance. So little, in fact, that by all appearances, her fist was plunging into the rock as if it were liquid. Sakura tried to yank her hand back, however the rock wouldn't let her move in that direction. As a matter of fact, she could have sworn that it felt like the rock was trying to suck her in.

Sakura couldn't stop a small smirk from showing on her face as she thought, '_Well…this isn't quite what I had in mind when I said _'let me through', _but oh well. As long as I make it out the other side, I don't care if the bolder stays in one piece or not._' Taking a deep breath, Sakura took a step forward, allowing her body to sink into the rock.

* * *

For a moment, Sakura just stood there, petrified. In front of her stood a massive statue, its nine eyes wide open, with one missing a pupil. Its hands were upraised, with people standing on most of the fingers. However, the thing that stole most of her attention was its mouth, which was gaping open, allowing a cloud of what was probably Chakra to flow out; and in the center of that cloud lay Naruto. Something, most likely the nine-tails, was being drained from his convulsing body.

Sakura swallowed hard, and then forced herself to move toward Naruto. As she neared the edge of the cloud, she knew that the Chakra wouldn't willingly let her through…but then again, neither had the seal, but she'd gotten through anyway…she would this time too. Distantly she heard someone say something, but the sound of the swirling Chakra and her own pounding heart made the words unintelligible.

Unlike with the seal, Sakura found herself fighting the cloud for every step, but she barely noticed, and she didn't care. She only had one thing on her mind, and that was saving Naruto. She hadn't even had time to come up with how exactly she was going to do so, but she knew that she could, and that kept her going.

She didn't waste any time when finally she pulled alongside Naruto. Both her good and bad hand stretched out over him as she closed her eyes and concentrated on how to do what she had to do. They were pulling the nine-tails out of Naruto. The nine-tails was fighting that pull and was thus killing Naruto…this was the problem.

The nine-tails, according to what she'd read, was not technically alive, and thus she should be able to use her Shihaigan on it. If everything went well, her Shihaigan would be able to immobilize the nine-tails enough to let it be taken out of a _still living _Naruto…If not…then she'd just have to find another way. Letting Naruto die was _not _on her agenda. She took a breath, then did the only thing she could think to do, and that was pour her Chakra as well as her consciousness into Naruto.

* * *

_The first things she noticed were that it was dark, dank, and loud. As her eyes adjusted, the cause of the commotion became clear. In front of her stood a cage, smoke going in and coming out, dragging a thrashing orange bubble. Surprised, Sakura looked beyond the bars and saw an orange blob with no distinct shape that was thrashing about much worse than the single bubble had been._

_As Sakura watched, another tendril of smoke floated between the bars to tear off a small chunk from the blob. A loud screech issued forth, and instantly Sakura knew that the orange blob was the nine-tails…but she couldn't think of it as such. The thrashing increased, forcing Sakura to act. She thought of a net as she threw her Chakra forward, hoping to pin down the 'blob'._

_She felt her Chakra settle over the 'blob', however it didn't seem to be helping any. The 'blob' continued its destructive maneuvers, not even seeming aware of the Chakra she'd thrown at it. Remembering how things had gone with the seal, Sakura gritted her teeth and tried to add more power into her 'net'. '_Stop moving!_' she thought ferociously, trying to force the 'blob' to hold still in a way that was similar to controlling muscles using medical ninjutsu…only the 'blob' didn't have any muscles._

_Sakura didn't know how long the stalemate continued, but finally she began to see results. Each time a smoky tendril tore off a piece, it still went wild, however it now seemed to be less destructive in-between smoke tendrils. Sakura let a small smile momentarily grace her face at her achievement before starting to strengthen her hold even more._

_Suddenly a sharp pain pulsed through her head. Without knowing how she knew it, she understood that she had reached the limits of what her Shihaigan could do. Sakura loosened her grip just enough for the sharp pain to become dull, then let her mind race. Her Shihaigan was at its limit; she still had her Eyes, but could she use them as well as her Shihaigan at the same time? '_Well, I won't know if I don't try._' _

_Sakura searched for a way to utilize her Eyes while continuing to slow down the 'blob's' movements. However, every time she thought she was close, she felt her control slipping, and had to stop and try something else. She was about to give up when something inside her clicked…she'd done it._

_Without having to think about what to do next, Sakura instantly began to use the Hoshi binding technique. '_Please work!_' Nothing happened, and Sakura began to fret. Maybe she was wrong. The technique was supposed to make the air not let you move through it, thus immobilizing you…but maybe it didn't work here…maybe there wasn't 'air' here for the technique to work with…maybe-_

_Sakura felt her heart leap as the 'blob' lashed out, but stopped mere millimeters before its target. It lashed out again, and again it didn't hit. It tried again in a different direction and Sakura felt her heart drop as it tore into what it hit. It continued to lash out, but soon Sakura noticed that, despite the fact that some were hitting their target, two thirds of the time the 'blob' was unable to hit its mark. Mentally Sakura cheered._

'Thank goodness! I guess it may be looser than what I would have liked, but I can just tighten it until nothing hits._' she began to do so, trying to hold back her surge of cheerfulness, '_Now I can save Naruto for sure! I hate to admit it, but I was kind of worried that-_' Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as a jolt of fear ran down her body. The 'blob' had turned to her, beady eyes glaring into her as parts of it continued to lash out all over the place._

_Sakura felt herself take a step back as that heated gaze bore into her. She'd never contemplated the idea that the 'blob' would notice her. She felt her leg muscles twitch, but she stopped them before they made her take another step back. She had to be courageous, Naruto's life depended on it. '_Besides,_' she reminded herself, '_It can't get to me due to the cage._'_

_As if to prove her wrong, the 'blob' shot out a tentacle thin enough to go through the bars. It shot towards her, and she flinched, but otherwise stood her ground. There was no point in running. Either it would kill her or it wouldn't. Running away would most likely only entice it to do the previous. To her surprise, however, neither choice came into play as the smoke, which had previously been taking parts of the 'blob' one at a time, began to swarm._

_Agonizing screams came from the 'blob' as the smoke tore its tentacle apart without mercy. The feeding frenzy continued, as did the shrieks that tore at her heart. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. Without thinking about the consequences, she lessened her Shihaigan's hold on the 'blob' so that she could immobilize the smoke. _

_It worked…mostly. There were still a few strands of smoke that could, and did, continue to partake of the tattered tentacle that was quickly being withdrawn back within the cage. Once within, the strands of smoke returned to their pattern of going in one at a time to take snippets of the 'blob'. Sakura was about to sigh in relief when a booming voice made her jump, "__**Why'd you do that, girl?**__"_

_Sakura bit her lip to keep from crying out in shock. It took a few moments for the question to sink in past her shock, and then a few more moments for her to speak. "They were hurting you, and…" her voice trailed off._

_By all appearances the 'blob' glared at her, "__**I was going to kill you.**__"_

_Sakura shrugged, and answered weakly, "I know…I just…couldn't stand it anymore." There came a pause as the 'blob' swatted at one of the smoke tendrils that was trying to take another piece. It dashed away, a tiny bubble it's only prize. Perhaps what she had done had weakened those smoke tendrils that were still moving, because the 'blob's' movements had never bothered them before. _

_The 'blob' turned back around and studied her, as if seeing her for the first time. Finally it said, it's voice a deep rumble, "__**You're not a typical human, are you?**__" Sakura didn't know what to say to that, so she remained silent as the 'blob' continued to scrutinize her, every once in a while taking swipes at the smoke tendrils that dared enter it's cage. As Sakura watched, she felt her heart lighten. Though the 'blob' was still being…fed upon…by the smoke, it was no longer thrashing around like a cat in a bath, and thus it wasn't hurting Naruto with its struggles._

_Her change in temperament must have caught the 'blob's' attention, for it spoke again, "__**Why did you try to hinder me, and then help me?**__" there was a small pause, then, "__**And none of that sentimental trash.**__"_

_Sakura began slowly, not knowing how the 'blob' would react, "I came here because I…well, I didn't want you to kill Naruto." Sakura started to increase the speed of her speech, not wanting to lose her courage or to be cut off and unable to continue, "If you keep doing what you were doing, you'll tear Naruto apart, and he'll die! That's why I came here, and why I tried to hold you down, but…!"_

_Sakura gulped, "But just because I am here for Naruto's sake doesn't mean I don't care that you're being hurt! I do…and, that's why I did that." She motioned towards the smoke that wasn't moving, "But I've done all I can to stop it…and it's still going." She decided not to add that she felt that her Chakra reserves were quickly nearing their end. She wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer._

_She hesitated, but ended up stating the truth as she continued, "Besides, if the Akatsuki fail to get you out…they'll just try again…and this time they'll make sure I won't be able to come stop them…and Naruto will _die_." Sakura clenched her hands, then glared at the 'blob', "And I won't let that happen!"_

"_**Then you're at a stalemate.**__" was the matter-of-fact reply._

_Sakura's shoulders slumped. It was true, and she knew it. She wouldn't be able to hold off everything for much longer, and when she gave out, the smoke would attack again, and the 'blob' would go crazy from the pain again, and-_

_A thought hit her as the 'blob' spoke once more, "__**I refuse to leave here and let them tear me apart. And I won't just stand by and let them pull me apart piece by piece, I'll fight.**__"_

"_That's it!" She exclaimed, then explained hurriedly, "They're going to come after you one way or another, so…let's make a deal." She made sure she had the 'blob's' attention before she gave her proposal, "If you'll come completely out without a fuss, I'll make sure that they take you all in one piece." Sakura forced herself to take a step forward, to show that she held no animosity. "If you come willingly, I can concentrate all my remaining Chakra on keeping them from getting a hold of anything that can be torn off." _

_She forced herself not to gulp at the hard gaze that settled upon her as she finished, "What do you say?"_

* * *

As soon as everything was over, Itachi jumped down from his position and hurried over to the two bodies lying in the middle of the floor. He ignored the blond boy and made straight for Sakura. The first thing he did when he knelt beside her was turn her over so that she was on her back. After that he put his fingers to her wrist, feeling for her pulse. It was weak, but, thankfully, it was there.

He was about to let go of her wrist when something caught his eye. A hand shaped bruise was beginning to form, and the wrist felt oddly unstable. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the rest of her body. He found no other external injuries, however, he did find a single, black, hair, too short to be his own.

Itachi stood up, his eyes hard. Right behind him stood Deidara, looking over his shoulder (he ignored this for the moment) and not too much farther away stood Kisame and Tobi. He spoke roughly as he turned from them, "Take her away from here as quickly as possible." Deidara bent to lift Sakura, as Kisame did the same to Naruto.

As Itachi walked towards the entrance, he explained, "I have something I have to…" his voice was cold as he ended with, "…finish."

* * *

There…did Sakura succeed? Is Naruto alive? And what's Itachi about to do? …not that that one is hard to answer. Also, I'm actually half-way sorry I ended it here, but I got sick and couldn't add the ending I wanted to in time, so that will have to go next chapter.

I'm sorry for the wait, but Thanksgiving (and everything that comes with it) took up too much of my time to allow me to type, and thus update, last weak. I'll try to update next Saturday.

Just a heads-up, the next chapter will be important, and that big poll I've been warning you about will come into play after that chapter. You won't want to miss it! As to this past poll, I believe the answer was obvious. You want them to stay together.

You know the drill (which is _not _a fire drill) when it comes to reviews, so please stick to that. Now, let's get onto the _pretty (LONG!) list_!

Thanks to: Florida Alicat, Hao'sAnjul (neither can I), xokatherine229, ItaDeiPei, Lady Mikomi, .assassinator (fangirl for Sasuke, the story, or...what?), Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, xXxCici-chanxXxDei-kunxXx, Bluebarry pie, xXSasuxSakuXx, bellacullen3, SpeedDemon315, xoBreathe, DojomistressAmbyChan, KurenaiBara-chan, CureTheDarkness, LadySakuraForest, So Happily Unsatisfied, I-Love-Akatsuki, hollydevinlovesdeidera (sorry it's not finished...I guess), tails, Aya Invictus (Thank you. If I need help, I'll ask. And no, I made up the Hoshi bloodline), icinnamonx3, Mew of Fire, xXAkatsuki-LoveXx, & undefinedxx (If you know what chapters those were, it would help me go back and fix them. also, I didn't describe him because I figured that people would already know what Sasuke from Shippuden looks like, and that most people would prefer for me to get on with the story) for reviewing!


	56. A Decisive Moment

Disclaimer: IMPORTANT: After you read this chapter, you will be informed on an extremely important poll that will affect the whole flow of the story. (You will not understand the poll if you don't first read this chapter, so don't skip down, **read**) You have been warned, now, onto the story.

**Chapter 56: A Decisive Moment**

The sun had fully set by the time they had arrived back at the main base. At the door they were met by a worried Yuri, who immediately took Sakura from Deidara without even asking. Turning around she said briskly, "Follow me, all of you." She then proceeded down the hall, not stopping until she had come to a door. She didn't knock, but instead just opened the door and walked into the Hoshi's bedroom, the three others following behind her obediently.

The three youngsters' faces became both relived and worried when they saw Yuri's burden, however they didn't rush to Sakura's side until after she'd been placed on Inuka's bed and Yuri had stepped back. As Inuka and Hanako pulled the covers over Sakura's sleeping body, Noya looked at the large fishstick who had a body draped over one shoulder. He was about to say something about the body when Yuri asked for him, "Kisame, is the boy alive?"

The fishst-Kisame-gave a toothy grin, "I never believed she'd be able to, but she did. He's alive," he looked at the body, then added, "but I ain't no medic, so I can't say whether he'll stay that way or not."

As Noya watched, Yuri nodded, then motioned to his own bed, "Fine, put him there." He mentally noted that she didn't ask for his permission, "He's the first thing she'll want to know about when she wakes up; and I'd prefer that she not go running about willy-nilly searching for him." Yuri shook her head, looking as if she were about to say something else, when another person entered the room.

Hiraku's hair was mussed and his arm was in a makeshift sling; this, along with an assortment of cuts and bruises, made his sudden appearance appear important. Hiraku caught Yuri's eye. She nodded, then said briskly to the other three Akatsuki in the room, "Deidara. Tobi." Noya had to hold back laughter as Tobi jumped when his name was called. He really seemed to be nervous around Yuri for some reason.

Yuri, either not noticing, or not caring, continued, "You will stay in here with Sakura. Don't let anyone you don't know in…and don't let her out. She's in no condition to be walking about." She then glanced at Hiraku before turning to Kisame, "I'd have preferred to have stayed with her myself, but it looks like we're needed elsewhere." Without another word the three left, leaving the two 'guards' to take care of the still unconscious Sakura.

Noya, being careful not to grab Deidara's attention (he wasn't afraid of Tobi noticing him), crept to the door, pressing his ear against it and listening hard. Yuri was speaking, "…happened to you?"

They appeared to be walking away, because their voices became harder to hear as Hiraku answered, "Well, I have some bad news. There were a number of Sound lurking around…"

Noya had been listening so intently to what was going on outside that he hadn't heard Inuka come up behind him and press her ear against the door too…that is, until she started giggling. He turned quickly as she mumbled, "Heh, heh, he just rhymed." Noya felt like hitting his head on a wall, only that would most likely draw unwanted attention. Taking a glance over his shoulder he stepped away from the door, dragging Inuka with him.

As it was, Tobi was staring at them, and if he didn't do something, he'd say something stupid that would make Deidara blow up. Noya sighed, then said, "Tobi, we should make sure they aren't hurt. We _are _the best medics here, after all." Tobi nodded jubilantly while Deidara turned and scowled; however, he did move out of their way, choosing to lean against the wall and watch. If Noya hadn't known any better, he'd have thought that Deidara was jealous that he couldn't help Sakura also…It was a good thing that he knew better.

* * *

_Sakura didn't know how long she'd been dreaming without knowing it…but she was now conscious of being unconscious…and it was an odd feeling. She ignored it, and turned her attention to the dream. _

_The scene of trees was slightly blurry, but not to the point of obstruction, so Sakura didn't pay it much heed. Instead she concentrated on the person who was lying on the ground, underneath an oddly shaped tree. It was Naruto. He looked much as she'd last seen him (on the brink of death), but she couldn't tell from here whether he was still alive or not. She tried to will herself closer, but apparently in this dream she wasn't in control._

_She had only just come to this conclusion when she heard movement in the distance, then a gasp. As Sakura watched, Hinata dropped down from a tree and ran to Naruto's side, soon followed by Temari, Tenten, and Ino. Hinata was obviously torn between being ecstatic and worried. The ecstatic half won as soon as Ino proclaimed that Naruto was merely sleeping…then lost as Ino proceeded to whack Naruto on the head in order to wake him up._

_Sakura watched, trying not to laugh as things played out. After having been smacked a second time by Ino's fist, Naruto was finally awake, but he seemed distracted, his hand straying to his pocket. Sure he smiled and acted like nothing was amiss, but Sakura could tell that his mind wasn't all there, and by the looks of it, so did Hinata. _

_However, she and Hinata were the only ones who did, and Hinata, the only one who could be heard, couldn't speak out. And thus, the dream ended with Naruto being dragged by Ino, Tenten and Temari laughing at something Ino said, Naruto complaining less than he normally would have, and Hinata watching Naruto, a small smile on her red face…and worry in her eyes._

* * *

Sakura awoke, feeling like she'd been run over by a pack of fan-girls. As she opened her eyes, she found out that two overly excited cousins could be even worse than being trampled by fan-girls. She felt like she was being hugged to death, and was just about to ask them to let go when the twins were suddenly gone.

Sakura watched, confused, as Deidara dumped the twins on the floor…why was he coming to her rescue? She mentally shrugged, it didn't really matter. Sitting up fully, Sakura smiled at Deidara, mouthing a thank you, then said to her cousins, "I'm alright…" She would have said more, but in that moment she spotted Naruto.

She slipped off the bed, glad to find that her legs supported her without too much effort, then walked slowly over to where Naruto lay. It only took a moment for her to relax. Just as in her dream, he was only sleeping. Her vision began to blur.

Hands tugged at her arm, and as she turned to look, the twins asked simultaneously, "Why are you crying?" Her vision blurred more as her tears fell. Before she knew what she was doing, she was hugging them, unable to find her voice. She was too relieved. A great weight had been taken off her shoulders.

After a few moments, Sakura forced herself to quit doing to them what they'd been doing to her. Standing up, she glanced again at Naruto, and noticed that he was missing some injuries. Turning, she asked, "Who…" She didn't get any further before the twins pointed to Noya and Tobi, who were sleeping on the last bed.

"They decided to see who could heal you and the brat better, Yeah." Deidara's voice shocked Sakura. She hadn't expected him to be the one to explain. His voice became harsher as he continued, "The idiot wore himself out, Yeah. He'll be in for it when Konan finds out, Yeah."

It took a moment for Sakura to figure out what he was talking about, but when it finally hit her, she had to agree. Tobi was supposed to be a 'guard', yet he'd fallen asleep…she wasn't angry at him, but Yuri would be. Sakura sighed, "It may be better for all of us if she doesn't."

A glare from Deidara made her explain, "If Yuri finds out, she may get angry at you for letting him sleep…and then I'd have to deal with two battered guards." 'Humph' was all the answer she got, and it took all her power not to laugh. Deidara was acting like a kid.

After a short silence, Deidara changed the subject, "So what 'cha going to do about the brat, since he's still alive, Yeah? I doubt he'll be allowed to stay here long, Yeah."

Sakura didn't answer right away, she knew he was right. Though she didn't know what plans Yuri or her uncle (or her father, for that matter) had in store for Naruto, she could figure out that they wouldn't be much to her liking. However, her gut feeling told her that if she acted before they did, everything would be ok…but how could she act? What could she do?

She'd have to get him out of here somehow, but that should be done when he was awake…she glanced at Naruto, but he showed no signs of wakening up soon…that part would obviously have to wait. But if she could get Naruto out then…it would be good to send a letter to Tsunade through him. Well, she may as well start writing, no need to waste time.

* * *

Sakura had just finished writing her letter to the Hokage when a thought hit her. "You guys…" She looked up, "where's Itachi?" Deidara jerked. Sakura's eyebrows snapped together. Deidara's reaction was not a good sign…and he wasn't answering. Sakura pushed her chair back and stood up, asking louder than necessary, "Deidara…what are you hiding?"

"No-nothing, Yeah. Itachi's just…_busy_…Yeah." He wasn't very convincing. Sakura closed her eyes, feeling for her link to Itachi while wondering why she hadn't done so in the first place. He was far away…and he was moving…a battle? Sakura felt something in the back of her mind snap.

"Deidara! Tell me what happened. NOW!"

A voice other than Deidara's answered tiredly, "Tobi thinks Itachi was angry." Sakura turned to look at Tobi, who had finally woken up, "Itachi said Itachi had to finish something…Tobi doesn't know what, though."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She rounded on Deidara, "Why didn't you try to stop him? _You _knew he was going after Sasuke!"

Deidara took a step back, "I didn't want to die, Yeah."

Sakura felt like hitting him as she remembered her dream. Instead she forced herself to turn back to the table, quickly scribbling a note to Naruto as she said briskly, "Well, it's too late now. I'll just have to fix this myself." When she looked up from her note, however, she found Deidara standing in front of the door, blocking her way. "Move."

Deidara shook his head, "We're not supposed to let you leave, Yeah. Konan says you have to stay, Yeah."

Sakura smiled a dangerous smile, "Oh, really? Well, let me tell you something." She took a step forward, her hands fisting, "Yuri isn't here, and I am." She pumped Chakra into her fist, "Now, I'll give you some choices, Deidara. You can willingly let me go, I can make you let me go, or you can come with me…but one way or the other, I'm going after them. Now, which will it be?"

* * *

Sasuke plunged towards his brother, attempting to hack him in two with his sword. Itachi dodged, then succeed in punching his younger brother into a tree. Sasuke didn't have time to retaliate as another hit made contact, sending him through the tree he'd already hit and against another one.

Sasuke quickly slashed to his left, stopping his brother's advance. His next swing of his sword sliced into Itachi's already injured left arm. Itachi's reaction was to throw shuriken at him. Sasuke dodged, however he didn't see the one coming from a blind spot. It hit his hand, and a moment later he was thrown back by yet another attack. By the time he noticed that he'd dropped his sword, he'd already been rammed into a tree, head first.

Sasuke fought to make it to his feet, his head spinning, but was only able to do so with the help of the tree that had harmed him. He tried to force his body to move away, but it wouldn't. He had to move. He couldn't. He tried to focus his gaze on his brother. Itachi was speeding towards him, Sasuke's own sword in his hands. Sasuke cussed as he tried to force his body to move…and then he saw something pink out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

Sakura ran like mad, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. The images from her dreams pursued her, reminding her never to slacken her pace, no matter how exhausted she was. If she didn't make it…then someone could die!

As she topped a tree covered hill, she saw the sight she'd feared. Ahead of her in the distance stood Sasuke, looking too beat up to move…and Itachi running towards him, preparing to land the final blow.

Sakura didn't slow down, she just ran as fast as her Chakra filled legs would let her. She had to get to Sasuke before Itachi did. She just had to…

* * *

IMPORTANT: What will happen? Well, this time I'm just as clueless as you. Why? Because it's time for the humongous poll I've been warning you about. Sasuke's fate (as well as other's fates, that are not directly mentioned) lies in your hands.

If you have an account, I'd rather you vote via the poll on my profile (since that way I don't have to worry about miscounting hundreds of votes…and I better get hundreds of votes). If you don't, though, you may vote via review.

The choices are 1)she makes it in time, 2)she doesn't make it in time, 3) she kind of makes it in time.

There will be about a months hiatus: two weeks for the poll to be open if there is an obvious winner, three weeks if the winner isn't so obvious. Then one to two weeks to write the chapter (this would be around Christmas and New Years after all).

Reviews, constructive criticisms, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page are welcome to some Christmas cookies...but I'm afraid we'll have to keep the flamers away...if we don't the cookies will just get burnt, and that'd be a waste. Now, on to the pretty list!

Thanks to: xoBreathe, bellacullen3, Aya Invictus, Hao'sAnjul, xokatherine229, .assassinator, xXAkatsuki-LoveXx, So Happily Unsatisfied, QueenThayet12990 (Don't worry, I have no problem with you repeating quotes), xXSasuxSakuXx (I'm afraid school doesn't allow me to), KurenaiBara-chan, lizzpercush, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, & ItaDeiPei for reviewing!


	57. Consequences

Disclaimer: The long wait is over, and the polls are in: She kind of makes it in time! (about 60 percent of the votes)

**Chapter 57: Consequences**

_Sakura didn't slow down, she just ran as fast as her Chakra filled legs would let her. She had to get to Sasuke before Itachi did. She just had to…_no matter the consequences.

* * *

It was as if everything was in slow motion. Itachi was charging Sasuke, Sasuke's sword aimed for his own heart. Suddenly there was movement. Sakura sprang forward, into the path of the sword. Itachi tried to pull back, but momentum was his enemy. It was too late. The sword pierced through Sakura before continuing on it's way to it's original target. For a moment, the world stood still…

Itachi blinked and the spell was broken, allowing his mind to comprehend the situation. The sword had gone all the way through Sakura, the hilt the only part showing in front of her. Behind her Sasuke was pined to the tree, but Itachi didn't care about that. Despite the bad situation, he couldn't help feeling thankful that Sasuke was so much taller than Sakura. His heart was about where her shoulder was…and that fact had probably saved her life.

He knew better than to pull the sword out of Sakura, but he did pull her and the sword away from Sasuke. He could care less if Sasuke bled to death. Sakura was trying to speak, but she was breathing so rapidly that she couldn't form words. Itachi lowered her to the ground, whispering, "You shouldn't try to talk." He may have pierced her shoulder, but it was low enough to have him worry about having clipped her lung.

Itachi glanced back as he felt three new presences coming from the direction Sakura had come from. The first over the hill was Deidara, quickly followed by Tobi and Noya. Seeing their teacher on the bloody ground, the two students rushed to her side. Deidara hurried forward as well, worried, but trying to hide it.

Despite his warnings, Sakura spoke unevenly, issuing orders despite her pain, "Tobi, you work on Sasuke. For now, stop his lungs from bleeding or collapsing. If that happens, he'll die." Tobi began to protest, but Sakura interrupted, "I know you can do it, Tobi. Now, Noya, Itachi, please help me get this out, without me bleeding to death." Sakura took a ragged breath, caught sight of Deidara, then said, "And Deidara, stand guard…there may be other Sound around."

Itachi expected Deidara to complain, but he didn't. Instead he just nodded and obeyed. Itachi returned his attention to the sword and Sakura. He could ponder on Deidara's odd behavior later. Sakura was speaking raspilly, "Itachi, slowly remove the sword. Noya, staunch the bleeding, just as I've taught you." Both complied.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a hole through her shoulder, Sakura shakily stood up with help from Noya. Itachi put a hand on her other arm, telling her to sit back down. Sakura glared at him, breaking out of his grasp and stumbling towards where Sasuke lay unconscious. Sakura sat down by Tobi, who looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. She couldn't blame him though, this was much harder than anything else she'd ever had him do…and it was just going to get harder.

Noya hurried to the other side of Sasuke while Sakura caught her breath. Even walking such a small distance had taxed her strength. She didn't have enough Chakra left to do anything to help Sasuke, but she did have her knowledge and her students. A glance at Noya told her that he was just as nervous as Tobi was, though he was hiding it better. They had every right to be nervous. This would be their biggest test yet.

Sasuke had many wounds but his chest wound was the most dangerous, as she'd known it would be. Inspecting the wound, Sakura was glad to find that thanks to her sideways momentum as she'd charged onto the scene, the sword had indeed missed Sasuke's heart, if not his left lung. Well, a lung, at least, could be salvaged; a heart could not.

They got to work. Sakura explained with exquisite detail what should be done and how while her students did their best to obey accordingly. This process went on for hours, halting only once when Sakura's shoulder began to bleed again. When finally Sakura said they'd done enough for now, both Noya and Tobi flopped backwards, exhausted, but happy. Their patient, though still unconscious from blood loss, was alive; and that was the best reward any medic could receive…even if they didn't know or didn't like the patient.

Sakura stood up shakily, waiting long enough for her vision to return to normal before turning to look at Itachi. He stood right where she'd left him, his face unreadable. Taking a few clumsy steps forward, Sakura spoke angrily, gesturing towards Sasuke, "What possessed you to do this?"

"He'd hurt you…and he's been hurting you…too much." Sakura shook her head, trying to dislodge the fog that wanted to overtake her. If she hadn't been so angry and so exhausted, she may have just forgiven him after chiding him a little; but as it was, she was currently not in the mind of forgiving the near murder of her friend.

"He's hurt me? Itachi," She took another step forward, almost tripping…maybe she had lost too much blood too. "Lots of things have hurt me over the years! Lots of things, lots of people…I'd never rest if I tried to destroy everyone and everything…and I would never be happy. I don't find happiness in death and destruction; that's one reason I'm a medic!"

Sakura had to gasp for breath until her vision cleared and her lightheadedness dissipated. Without looking at Itachi, she continued, trying to remind herself to breath between sentences, "Itachi," her voice was softer, though still angry, "Don't think that Sasuke's the only one who's hurt me. You've-" her voice cracked, but she continued anyway, looking at Itachi once more, "You've also hurt me!"

Itachi stared at her for a moment, flabbergasted, then his eyes took in the wound on her shoulder. He took one step forward, all it took to be within reach. His hand rose to her face gently as he said, "You shouldn't have done that. It was reckless of you. I never would have intentionally hurt you; you know that."

Sakura pushed his hand aside, ignoring how the world was becoming blurry, "That hurt, but that's now what I'm talking about! I know that was an accident, but-" her voice caught in her throat again, "But how can you think that things you've done, like trying to kill my best friends...how can you think that it doesn't hurt me!" Itachi was taken aback.

Sakura quickly turned around, unable to keep looking at him. If she did, then she'd either start crying or she'd slap him. As it was, she had to will away the tears that had already formed and wanted desperately to fall. She felt a light touch on her shoulder, then it was gone. A glance over her shoulder showed that Itachi was nowhere to be seen. He probably wanted some time alone.

* * *

Itachi stalked off, ignoring the look Deidara gave him. He was not in a mood for explanations…and who would be? He'd just been yelled at by his girlfriend. He'd been walking for a long time when a small voice in the back of his head pointed out, making him stop in his tracks, '_There were tears in her eyes._' He sighed to himself as he thought, '_I don't know which is worse…her being angry or her being sad…I don't think I like either._'

Sakura seemed to have that effect on him. He would do anything to protect Sakura and make her happy…but right now he was in a bit of a situation. He'd been trying to protect her, and now she was unhappy with him; but if he'd let things go, then Sasuke would have hurt her again. He shook his head, he was at a stand still.

A moment later he decided to turn back around as his mind wrapped around the fact that Sakura might have been about to cry because she felt that he'd betrayed her. She didn't understand why he'd felt he'd had to act…and apparently he hadn't explained well enough. '_Then I'd better try explaining again._'

He wasn't really angry with her, just hurt…and he couldn't stop himself from still wanting to kill Sasuke. He wouldn't (at least not unless his foolish little brother did something _else _to Sakura), but he wanted to. And he knew he wouldn't forgive the idiot for hurting his Sakura. Not now and not ever.

* * *

"You're so stupid! You hate your brother and now your brother hates you. Do you really think that this circle of hatred is ever going to give you, either of you, any happiness!" Sakura exclaimed, glaring at a now awake Sasuke. "Quit letting your hatred control you, Sasuke. It will destroy you!" Somehow both Noya and Tobi continued to sleep where they'd fallen despite her loud voice.

Sasuke's voice was low and dangerous, but she wasn't afraid of him (maybe because he was still too injured to move) as he snapped, his voice raspy, "Shut up, it's made me stronger. Soon I'll be-" Sakura's mirthless laugh stopped him from saying anymore.

"If you continue like this, you'll soon be dead. I'll admit your stronger than before, Sasuke, but your strength won't grow much more. Not with hatred at it's source. Hatred spurs strength the same way a gardener set on winning a prize for the tallest plant spurs the growth of a seedling. You pay so much attention to getting the desired result quickly that you overlook dangerous flaws."

Sakura couldn't help but mentally shake her head at such an odd analogy, but she continued anyways, "You're not the only one who's stronger, Sasuke, I am too. It's true I wouldn't stand a chance in an all-out battle against you, but you know what? I'm well grounded. I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses, and I know my limits." Mentally Sakura added as her shoulder twinged, '…_though just because I know my limits doesn't mean I always pay them heed._'

"I've always been slower when it comes to getting stronger, but…think of it this way. While you were growing stronger in large bursts, thinking only of your hatred, I was consolidating my strength, growing at my own pace under the patient tutelage of Tsunade." Sakura had to cringe mentally, Tsunade hadn't always been patient. She mentally cringed a second time as she decided to use her previous analogy again.

"A planter that only focuses on the plant growing up, will one day find the plant drooping under its own weight. It will be so lanky and unable to support itself that it will stop growing. At that point, there's only two options. Either the gardener can cut off the excess weight, and start focusing on helping it build up it's root system and the thickness of it's stem…or the gardener can continue their folly, thus leading to the plant's death."

Sakura looked Sasuke in the eye, her expression somber, "Strength that comes quickly is fleeting. If things continue as they are, you'll soon hit a wall, and you're progress thus far will become a distant memory…if hitting that wall doesn't kill you, that is." Sasuke was staring at her like she'd grown a second head. She couldn't be sure, though, if that was because he thought her idea was stupid, or if he just didn't like her analogy.

That, along with another thought, made her give a weak laugh despite the somber atmosphere, "You know…I was just thinking of what a certain idiot would say if he were here right now. He'd probably say something like 'caring for others is what truly makes you strong,' to back me up."

"Well, I've said my part. Whether you heed it or not is up to you." Standing up, Sakura shook her head ruefully before saying, "Oh, and in case you were wondering, Naruto's fine now. I was able to get to him in time to stop him from dying and," Sakura glanced up through the trees to the sun, "And I'd guess that right about now Hinata and the others will be finding him under a tree…that is, of course, only if I read my dream right and he did what I'd told him to in my note."

Sakura shrugged then nudged Noya with a foot, waking him. As Noya sat up, he asked, "Are we leaving?" Sakura nodded, and was about to nudge Tobi next when Sasuke spoke, surprising her.

"Why don't you escape? Before you had to go back for Naruto, but now he's safe. Why not leave before they find out."

Sakura sighed, "Because I can't." nudging Tobi lightly she explained, "For one thing, Hanako and Inuka are still there." Tobi didn't budge, so Sakura tried again, with more force this time, "For another, I'm having a hard enough time staying standing. There's no way I'd be able to run away before being noticed." Tobi still refused to wake up.

Sakura turned to Noya, "Can you deal with him for me, please." Noya nodded, then proceeded to shake a still sleeping Tobi. Turning away from the scene, Sakura faced Sasuke and finished, "And then, on top of all that, I have…" she spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words, "family issues…and I really need to sort them out as soon as possible." There was one more issue, but she wasn't quite sure whether she should, or even could, speak about it.

Sakura turned back to Noya and Tobi (who was now standing, if not awake) rather than keep looking at a battered Sasuke. "Let's go." As they walked away, Sakura couldn't help but whisper, even if only to herself, since Sasuke most likely wouldn't catch her words, "I'm sorry…you had your chance…but I must move on…"

* * *

AN: I was going to end it here, but I decided that to make up for the long wait I'd go on…also, thanks to all who voted.

* * *

By the time Sakura had stumbled back to where Deidara stood, she found that he wasn't alone. With him stood Itachi, Kisame, Yuri, and Hiraku (all battered in one way or another). Yuri cut off whatever she'd been saying to the others when she caught sight of Sakura and her students. For a moment she thought that Yuri's face showed surprise; if it had, it was quickly ironed out.

Yuri started towards her, her eyes hard, "And why, _Miss Sakura Haruno_, did you leave the safety of the base? You should have known better." She paused, then added, "And why are you walking around in your condition?" If Sakura had had more strength, she would have walked past Yuri, just to show her that she could; but as it was, Noya's support was the only reason she could still walk without falling, so dodging Yuri was out of the question.

Instead Sakura, trying to ignore her lightheadedness, said bluntly, "If I'd stayed 'safe' back there, then another person close to me would have died…and I 'knew better' than to let that happen. As to walking, how else am I supposed to get from one place to another?" her words had been harsher than she meant them to be, but she was tired…tired from overexertion, tired from blood loss, tired from being angry…and she was tired of being questioned when she was tired!

Sakura might have voiced her tired, angry thoughts if, at that moment, two large hands hadn't picked her up. Itachi was holding her in his arms so gently it was as if he was afraid she'd break. Sakura knew she was supposed to be angry at him for what he'd done only a few hours ago, but…'_I just can't bring myself to stay angry at him for long. I love him. I_ know _I shouldn't…I_ shouldn't_…but I **do**._' Sakura sighed but didn't say anything for or against being carried; her world was spinning again.

It was only after they'd passed the barrier into the clearing that Sakura finally broke her silence. "I'd like to stay outside for a while." Before Yuri could protest, Sakura said, "I'll stay in the barrier if I have to, but I am going to stay outside till I feel better."

Noya chimed in, "The sun will be good for her! I'll go get the twins!" He then ran off before Yuri could say anything.

Kisame chuckled quietly as Yuri stood there, her momentarily wide eyes betraying her emotionless façade. She wasn't used to being disobeyed, even when her order had not been verbalized. It was Hiraku who whacked Kisame in Yuri's stead, then said tiredly, "Fine, little Miss, stay in the barrier. If anything seems amiss, though, go inside _immediately_. Itachi, Kisame, stay with her." His eyes narrowed as he turned to Deidara, "Goldilocks…"

Itachi smirked and Sakura and Kisame snickered as Deidara turned bright red. Hiraku continued as if nothing were out of the ordinary, "…wake up the sleep walker, then meet us in the debriefing room." With that, Hiraku turned and left with Yuri towards the door that was swinging open. Three pink haired children ran past them, a big book in one of the girls' hands.

* * *

The sun was about to set when Sakura closed the journal, saying to her groaning cousins, "We've been reading long enough. Let's watch the sun set, then go to bed." A yawn overtook her, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired." They then sat in silence (well, short of Inuka's muttering), watching the sky change colors. Sakura's mind, however, was anything but silent; she didn't let it show, though.

One of the main topics on her mind had not been mentioned once, and that was Naruto. She'd have to wait until she was alone with the twins to ask. If he had gone, as her dream made her believe he had, then she didn't want to alert the Akatsuki, lest they try to recapture him. '_Speaking of the Akatsuki,_' she thought worriedly, '_that's another thing I've got to deal with. I need to-_'

Her thoughts were cut off as Inuka's shrill, and obviously _not _tired, voice exclaimed, "I can't believe that with all the translating we've done, we've yet to find _**any **__mention of the World Walker_!" Sakura rubbed her ringing ears, but nodded in agreement. It was true that it was odd. They were written in approximately the right time, so there should have been _some _mentions of such an important figure…but there weren't any in the first _or _second section. At least, none that they could find.

* * *

Itachi walked Sakura back to her room, and after finally losing all the tagalongs, they were finally alone. She was opening her door when he put one hand on the door-frame and the other on her hand that held the doorknob. Though he hated to admit it, she was confusing him.

First she'd yelled at him, then she'd been about to cry. When next he'd seen her she didn't say anything to him. She didn't protest when he'd picked her up, but she also hadn't leaned into his grip as she normally would have. Later, when he'd spoken to her, she'd answered, but only with as few words as necessary. She wasn't ignoring him, per se, but she wasn't paying him much attention either. He couldn't figure her out, and it was bugging him.

After a long while, he noticed that Sakura hadn't moved, neither to continue opening her door and ignore him, or turning to look at him. It became apparent to him that she was waiting for him to make the first move. "Sakura…please look at me." For a moment Itachi thought Sakura was going to ignore him after all because she used her free hand to lift his hand off of hers, but then she sighed, and turned, closing the door she'd begun to open.

When she looked up at him, he felt as if ice water had been poured over him. Her eyes held obvious unhappiness, but as he looked into them, he became more aware of the reasons for the things that had been confusing him. She was confused too, if for different reasons than him. She was still angry with him, it was obvious, but…looking into her eyes, he could tell that he didn't need to explain his actions to her. She knew and understood…and she'd eventually forgive him, given time.

A small smile crept onto his face, and as the silence continued, Sakura asked, "Yes? What is it?" She'd caught his smile, but he could tell her tired mind could not process what it meant. A small smirk was all the warning he gave her before leaning down and kissing her.

* * *

There! The long awaited chapter. I won't tell you what will happen with the choice you've made, however, I will tell you what would have happened (roughly) if you'd chosen the other two.

If she'd made it in time, then she'd have knocked the sword completely off course, making it hit the tree, not Sasuke or herself. She would have then gone on to yelling at both of them, giving them a speech about revenge, and then she would have 'relatively' gotten over the whole incident.

If she hadn't made it in time, Sakura would have tripped, and Sasuke would have died…I may have even made Itachi be nearly killed by Sasuke's attempt to protect himself. I can't say too much for sure, though, because my gut feeling was that that would be the least liked choice...so I hadn't thought much on it.

As it was, my guess as to how the poll would turn out was right. I'd figured 'kind of' would get first, 'in time' second and 'not in time' last. But still, It's good to know that this is what the majority of people wanted to happen.

I'll try to update next Saturday (17th Jan), however, Finals are coming close, and the work is piling up, so I may not get enough time. But hey, at least this chapter was extra long!

Reviews, **constructive **criticism, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page are welcome to a new years toast! However, since fire and liquids don't tend to get along very well, we'll leave out the flamers. Now, on to the **_Long_** _pretty list_!

Thanks to: 321noeoen123, LadySakuraForest, ItaDeiPei, Hao'sAnjul (it meant that Sakura stopped death, but just barely), Spirit Seer, Megan Giles, bellacullen3, a, Tsukinoshi (thanks), xXSasuxSakuXx (I'm hoping to end it soon-ish, however...you never know), xokatherine229, Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, NightWing101, icinnamonx3, Bluebarry pie (I wouldn't put this 'on the shelf'. I am planning to finish), QueenThayet12990, .assassinator, ., xoBreathe, KurenaiBara-chan, Darkness' Forbidden Scribe, AWR (Fishstick refers to what Sakura called in in the first chapter of ACC when she couldn't think of his name. As to Sasuke and the cousins, you may not feel they are needed, but I've had others say just the opposite. I know it's 'dragged' as you said, but it was necessary to add all the information. I am, however, trying to speed things up again I thank you for using constructive criticism, and not just nag/flame.), I-Love-Akatsuki, SnowWolfSpirit (you crack me up, Sui-chan), GraceMeWithOblivion (well, you did kind of get what you wanted), Rischael824, dark Alley, & Magpie-chan for reviewing!


	58. The Mantle

Disclaimer: If you think so, you didn't pass _your_ finals!

**Chapter 58: The Mantle**

Sakura had eaten breakfast in silence, still exhausted from her previous day's adventures. The whole time, her mind kept wandering from one subject to another, never lingering long enough for the thought to do any good. It wasn't until a knock sounded on her door that she noticed she'd been sitting in front of an empty plate for over an hour. She shook her head to clear her clouded mind, then called out, "Come in."

It was Hanako. She came in, looking cowed by the fact that she had come by herself (and possibly because Itachi was the one standing guard outside her door), under one arm she held the journal tightly. When the door closed behind her, Hanako relaxed a little, then greeted her. It took a few minutes of small-talk before Hanako relaxed enough to announce the reason she'd come.

Lowering her voice, Hanako handed Sakura the journal she'd been keeping pressed close to her body, "Lady Sakura, there's a note for you…from _him_." Sakura opened the journal to find two pieces of paper, the uppermost of which held Naruto's obvious scrawl. As Sakura glanced at the second paper, Hanako added in a slightly louder voice, "Noya put a translation of something in there too."

Sakura nodded, skimmed over Naruto's short note, then set the book and letters aside. She'd read everything in detail later, when she was alone. Sakura sat on her bed and motioned for Hanako to sit beside her as she asked quietly so as not to be overheard by Itachi, "So, what happened while I was away?"

"Noya told us to stay with Naruto, then he ran after you with the others. About twenty minutes later Naruto woke up. We gave him the note you'd written and he read it, then asked for the letter you'd been working on; said he'd deliver it to the Hokage like you wanted. He wrote the note, then left."

Hanako paused as a small smile momentarily showed on her face, then she added, "I think your map confused him, maybe because he was still tired…and, well, Inuka and I ended up helping him get to the exit. It was kind of funny, he kept wanting to go the wrong way." Sakura smiled too. That sounded like Naruto.

After Hanako left, Sakura took out Naruto's note and read it in full:

_Sakura,_

_I don't know what's going on, but_

_I'll do as you ask. Just be careful_

_and do your best. I'll see you soo-_

_The little girls are telling me to hurry._

_Naruto._

_P.S. If anyone hurts you, I swear I-_

That's where the note ended. Sakura smiled, '_Knowing Naruto, this one little note probably took him forever to write. The twins probably had to stop him from writing more so that he'd still have time to escape._' Her smile still intact, she picked up Noya's paper to find the Ancient language as well as it's translation.

Reading through it, she could tell it was a prophesy, though of what, she couldn't say. The wording (that she _could _read) was vague and, on top of that, many of the words could be interpreted different ways. Shaking her head, Sakura stood up and went to her door. She would need to talk to her cousins, and while she was at it, she may as well stay and visit with them where there was plenty of Nature's Light. She had other things to think about, other things to do, but she was too tired to concentrate on them at the moment.

* * *

Throughout her time with her cousins, Sakura's mind kept wandering back to the contents of Naruto's letter. As she stepped out into the hallway and the door closed behind her, she leaned against said door, and listened to the thoughts that had been bombarding her since she'd pushed them aside earlier. She'd have to make a decision soon; she had to act…but how?

She didn't need to look at Naruto's note to remember what he'd said, it was engraved in her mind. '_do your best. I'll see you soon._' But what was 'best'? What could she do? Would she ever be able to see him again? What about Konoha? What would happen now that the Akatsuki had all the tailed beasts? Her father wanted to 'unite' the world…would he try to do so by destroying all the Villages? '_No,_' Sakura thought in answer to her question as she remembered something her father had said.

'_They are not my enemy, they are merely misguided. I am willing, and have begun, to bring them to the path I see._'

'_No,_' she thought again, '_he wants to 'unite' the world, not 'destroy' it…he'll only 'destroy' the opposition. At least, that's what it sounded like. But that still leaves me with the question of-_'

"Sakura?" Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin, she'd forgotten that Itachi was there, standing guard. And here she was, spacing out like an idiot in the middle of a hallway for anyone to see.

"Oh, sorry, I got lost in thought." Pushing herself away from the door, she started walking towards her room, saying with a yawn, "I guess I'm still tired. Maybe I should go to bed early." They lapsed into silence. As they walked, Sakura always stayed one step ahead of Itachi, allowing her mind to go where it wanted without the fear of Itachi seeing something on her face.

It wasn't until they had reached their destination that Itachi spoke while wrapping his arms around Sakura's shoulders and pulling her into a light embrace, "What's bothering you? And don't say it's 'nothing' or that it's because of me. I know that isn't the case." Sakura sighed, leaning into his hug. He knew her too well…so much for not getting caught spacing again.

"I'm just…thinking about my father and…things like that." Sakura yawned, "I'm tired too." Patting his arm, Sakura pulled away and turned to face him, "Even though it's not 'nothing', it's not really something you should be worrying about. He's my father, not yours." Standing on tiptoe, Sakura gave Itachi a kiss goodnight, and as she was closing her door, she said, "Don't worry, I'll find my own way to deal with it. Good night."

Sakura got ready for bed and turned off her lights, however, she didn't get into bed. She really was tired, but she still needed to think…without any more interruptions…and falling asleep would definitely count as an interruption. Standing with her back against the wall, Sakura sank into thought.

'_What can I do? I don't want Konoha to be destroyed, and I don't want to stay locked up here forever. But…I know I can't stop Li from chasing his 'goal', and I also know he's too strong, especially now that he has the tailed beasts. I can't overpower him…I don't think anyone could…but…UGG! I've got to do something. There's got to be a way…_'

* * *

Itachi stood guard, his face impassive. Soon someone would be coming to take his place, after all, even he needed to sleep. As he waited, though, his thoughts turned to the girl behind the door. She was once again bottling things up inside her. Did she not trust him enough? If she didn't, he wouldn't be too surprised. After all, he knew that in her eyes he had betrayed her when he hadn't warned her about Naruto and when he'd tried to get rid of his problematic brother.

'_Maybe it's not so much that she doesn't trust me at all, but that she doesn't trust me with everything._' It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was much better than the alternative. He mentally sighed as his thoughts moved on. '_Sakura's birthday is coming up._' He would have thought more, however someone had appeared.

* * *

The door's sudden opening cut into Sakura's thoughts. Turning to look, she found Yuri standing in the doorway, her face stern. She didn't blink an eye when she noticed Sakura was standing rather than sleeping, but instead, turned on the lights, shut the door and walked up to her, then started speaking in a voice that mirrored her face, "It has come to my attention that Naruto is nowhere to be found. I believe that _you _know something about this."

Sakura nodded, her mind whizzing, "Yes, I do. Father agreed that Naruto would be allowed to live if I could separate him from the nine-tails, and I did. I just figured that he no longer needed to be here, so I arranged for him to leave when he woke up." Yuri opened her mouth to say something, but Sakura interrupted tersely.

"It was an agreement between my father and I, and since there were no specifications as to what would happen to Naruto afterwards, there is nothing for you to be angry about." Yuri began to protest once more, but Sakura cut her off yet again , "If there are any problems, they should be worked out, _in person_, between my father and I, not you."

She was being rude, but she was tired, and this was the only way she could come up with, under the circumstances, that would allow her to meet with her father. Turning around, Sakura said as she headed for her bed, "I'll talk about that with my father. If you must, you can talk to me in the morning, but if there's nothing else, than I'd like to go to sleep now." It was a dismissal, and though Sakura hated having to act like she was in charge, she knew it was the only way Yuri would obey…and it was the only way to usher in her plans.

* * *

Yuri, waited until Sakura was in bed, then answered her demands with a bow and left. She ignored Itachi as she continued down the hallway. She wasn't happy that things had happened without her consent, however…despite Sakura's attitude, Yuri found a smile threatening to break her mask.

She knew part of Sakura's terseness was due to being tired, she wasn't one to normally be so short with others. She didn't know why Sakura hadn't been sleeping, It had been hours since Itachi claimed she had gone to bed, but she did know that tiredness hadn't been the only cause of Sakura's change in behavior. She knew Sakura better than any other (well, maybe there were a _few_ exceptions, such as Itachi), and she could tell there had been a sense of authoritative demand with planed reasoning behind her words. That wouldn't have come about due to mere tiredness; of that, she was sure.

'_Hiraku was right, she _is_ starting to take up her mantle…though I don't believe that she's as far along as he thought._' Shaking her head, she headed towards where the other Shimaguchi would be, '_She's got something planned, and she's willing to use her resources to reach her ends; and if that resource just happens to be her power as Li's daughter…well, so be it. Whether she likes it or not, she's willing to use it to reach her goals._'

As Michi brought up the screen to let her speak with her Master, she found herself saying, "She really is your daughter. Just like you, she's got her mind set on a goal, and she's going to reach that goal no matter what." Li raised an eyebrow, "I just received an order from Lady Sakura Haruno." A smile played on his face for a moment before being wiped out. "She wishes to talk to you, face to face."

Li's voice sounded in her head, '_I can not leave here again so soon._'

"I know, but I don't think Lady Sakura is willing to wait very long…and on top of that, she helped Naruto disappear."

'_I see._' He didn't sound surprised in the least. '_Very well then, I'll speak to her, but she'll have to come to me this time. Have Pein…and, I suppose, Itachi…escort her once she's fully recovered. I'll talk to her then._'

There was a pause, and Yuri was about to leave, believing the conversation was over, but then Li's voice returned, '_Oh, and I'm glad you have finally acknowledged my brother's feelings. I wish you luck and happiness._'

This time, he really was gone, and for that, Yuri was glad. Her face was bright red. However, when she turned away from the screen, she found she wasn't completely in luck. Michi was smiling at her in such a way that she knew that the green haired woman knew what had been said, despite not being able to hear it. Her face turned even more red.

* * *

Yuri's strange arrival and departure was not explained, so Itachi continued to wait at Sakura's door for the replacement that had yet to come. The thoughts from before were still weighing on his mind. Sakura was quickly approaching her sixteenth birthday, and that meant that there would undoubtedly be a celebration of some sort. That would be interesting…though maybe not in a good way. It also meant…

…he'd have to schedule a talk with her father.

* * *

There, it's short, but it's here (I barely finished it in time). Also, hey…what does that last line bring to mind? What do you _think _he wants to talk about?

I'm sorry about the long wait, but I've been busy (finals) and I've been injured (a bed and a desk collaborated in bringing about my downfall…they succeeded, if only partly. I was unable to walk for two days, and was limping for many days after. I assure you, two days stuck in bed limits computer usage.)

I'll try to update by next Saturday (Jan 31), I'll try hard, but school and life have been getting in my way. However, I assure you, I will not quit writing this story until I've finished it. After I finish it, though, I can't promise that there will be another story soon. There will also, most likely, not be a sequel to this sequel. If I do write another story, though, there is the possibility it will have some connections to this story, but it will be capable of standing entirely on its own.

Reviews, constructive criticism, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page get a free piece of cyber-gum. Flamers, on the other hand, will only get static. Now, let's move on to the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: xoBreathe (that is a secret...for now), EmoAniChan, Sauru Tsukiyumi Sanbi's Faeble (I use both spell check and an editor, sui-chan. But yes, everyone makes mistakes. I fixed the one you mentioned, thanks.), KurenaiBara-chan, xXxCici-chanxXxDei-kunxXx, So Happily Unsatisfied, bellacullen3 (thanks), icinnamonx3, QueenThayet12990, Hao'sAnjul, Cster (I'll leave that up to you to decide), 321noeoen123 (happy late birthday), Bluebarry pie, Inner-me-is-chaos, xXAkatsuki-LoveXx (thank you), xokatherine229, ItaDeiPei, xXSasuxSakuXx, SpeedDemon315, Tabeko (thank you), .assassinator, krazykoreangurl, Hesunohana (yes, he really loves her), & GraceMeWithOblivion for reviewing!


	59. Plans

Disclaimer: Think! Please…I beg of you…think…how could I own?

**Chapter 59: Plans**

Itachi watched Sakura as they ran through the budding trees. He'd been informed the day before their departure that Pein was taking Sakura to see Master, and he was to accompany her. He hadn't been told why he was coming, or even why Sakura was going; but the first one was what he'd wanted anyway, and the second one was, at least partially, inferable. It must have something to do with what Yuri had discussed with Sakura five nights ago.

It had taken Sakura longer than he'd expected to recover. It had taken her three days before she was able to use her Chakra to heal her shoulder wound and the wounds of the Akatsuki members who had them. It had then taken another two days of rest before she was up to a long journey. When Itachi had brought it up with Sakura, though, all he'd gotten was that she was 'just tired'. Yeah right.

He had a feeling that even now she had yet to fully recover from what she'd done to save the blonde brat. Sakura had explained (or tried to anyway) to him how she'd performed her miracle, but never once did she mention something that he'd seen that day…and he didn't bring it up. It was something that was bothering him, but he could tell that she hadn't even known it had happened.

Her eyes had changed. They weren't green or blue, or even ringed…but black and white. It had been on the second day that he'd begun to wonder if that had been the cause of her slow recovery. However, he could come up with nothing that would explain why her eyes had changed, or why she was exhausted…that is, until he heard something.

It had been completely by accident, but he'd overheard Ayaka talking to Tobi. She'd been telling him about something that had happened when Sakura had first found Naruto. Sakura had apparently been holding off both the barrier to the room (with her father's Kekkei Genkai) and Hiraku (with her Hoshi Kekkei Genkai) when Ayaka had entered the scene. She said that, at the time, she'd pushed it out of her mind, but that now she'd thought it may be important.

While Sakura had been concentrating on using both her Kekkei Genkai, her eyes had been the same as what Itachi had seen: black and white. However, she said that they only were like that for about ten minutes. After that, she'd run out of Chakra, and that had been the end of that. Itachi knew without asking that it had exhausted Sakura, just as it had the second time. Only, the second time, her eyes had been like that for hours, not minutes. He suspected that the more she used them, the worse the relapse.

Returning his attention to Sakura, Itachi noticed that she hadn't spoken since they'd left. Mentally his eyebrows snapped together (he wasn't about to show emotion in front of Leader). Something was on Sakura's mind, but what that something was, he didn't know. Sakura had yet to explain to him why she'd felt the need to talk to Master. Either she didn't want him to know or she thought he already knew.

That or, as was most likely, she'd forgotten that she hadn't told him. '_She _has _been a little scatterbrained lately…She hasn't even noticed that spring has come yet…or what that means for her._'

* * *

They arrived at a small cottage in the afternoon of the next day. Sakura felt her heart flutter, she could sense her father's presence here, and it was much stronger than it had been when he'd visited her. Sakura took a deep breath, forcing her heart to calm down. She hadn't come all this way to chicken out now.

Pein took the lead, and as he opened the door to the cottage, Sakura expected to see something like the Akatsuki's other hideout; but there was no maze, no labyrinth, no _traps_…just a normal entryway. Pein was about to continue walking, but Sakura found her feet taking her forward without his lead. Li's presence was so strong that she didn't need to be told where to find him now.

Sakura suddenly stopped in front of the second door she came to, he was here. She was reaching for the door, but there was no need, because at that moment, the door was opened from the inside. There in the doorway stood her father, the smile on his face asking sarcastically 'what took you so long'. Sakura ignored this and stepped inside the room. She didn't feel like dillydallying at the moment, not when so much was on the line.

Li shrugged nonchalantly, closing the door behind them and then leading them into what looked like a small office. The main focus of the room was the squat wooden table with pillows in place of chairs. Li sat down and motioned for the others to do so too. As they settled themselves, he said with a smile that revealed nothing, "So, Sakura, what brings you here?"

Sakura fought the urge to glare as she answered, "I'm sure _you've _already figured it out, but I suppose I can say it anyway." Taking a deep breath, Sakura looked around at everyone before letting her eyes rest on her father. Itachi was here as her boyfriend (and, probably, as an extra bodyguard), Pein was here as her uncle and her father's right-hand man, but it was her father who's mind she really had to sway. _He _was the one who pulled all the strings in the Akatsuki like a master puppeteer. If she could persuade him into doing what she wanted, then no one in the Akatsuki would argue…at least not too loudly_._

"I'm sure you already know I helped Naruto to escape." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi remain emotionless while Pein shifted, quickly blotting out his surprise and anger. She mentally shrugged, so Pein hadn't figured it out. Well, he didn't really know her like Itachi or Yuri did, so she couldn't bring herself to be too surprised. "I'm also sure you all have figured out how much I dislike having people I care about being hurt." Her father nodded, that annoying smirk on his face. Itachi remained passive, but she knew that underneath he was smirking as well. Pein, on the other hand, looked disgusted, as if caring about other people was a bad thing.

Sakura squared her shoulders before getting to her main point, "I will not allow you to attack Konoha. Your goal, my _dear _father, may be to conquer the world, but _mine _is to protect as many people that are important to me as I possibly can. If that means that I have to get in your way, I will do so. I will not stand by and let you harm what is near and dear to me, and that includes Konoha…and Suna." She hadn't planed that last part, but she'd decided last minute that if she didn't, he might not understand that it was on her list as well.

The room was silent. Pein's mouth was agape, and Itachi may have been slightly paler than normal. Well, she had just given her own father (their Master) an order. Li, though, sat emotionlessly in front of her, giving no sign as to what he thought about what she'd just said. The silence dragged on, but Sakura refused to be the one to break it. It had to be her father who spoke first. However he answered would decide where the rest of this conversation would lead. Just in case, she had plenty of kunai and shuriken, _and _she was full of Chakra.

Her father must have noticed her tense up, for an ironic smile played on his lips as he said in a low voice, "You really are just as brash as your mother. Making demands, fully aware, but not caring that, I am the more powerful party." He sighed, almost making Sakura jump, "Well, I suppose that's not surprising, and neither was your demand…but I'm afraid that means that once again we're going to have a little debate due to our conflicting goals." He paused a moment, then added with a smirk, "And don't be so tense, I'd never kill my own daughter."

* * *

Sakura fell onto the bed that her father had lent her for the night. They had yet to come to a full agreement, and things had gone on so long that Li had decided to continue their debate in the morning. She sighed, closing her tired eyes. Despite everything that was on her mind, she quickly fell asleep.

_Dream Sakura was sitting in a tree, watching herself. She was unable to move as Sakura found Naruto outside Konoha, just finishing up some solitary practice. He looked surprised, then happy, as Sakura walked out from behind a tree. Bounding up to her, he caught her in a bear hug, swinging her around like a rag doll, "Sakura! You're back! Thank goodness, I-" Sakura whacked him on the head until he to let go of her; she needed to breath._

_Taking a deep breath, Sakura put her hands on her hips, but her mock anger was betrayed by the smile that could be seen in her eyes. Before long, both were laughing and hugging, but suddenly Sakura took a step back, her face suddenly serious. "Naruto, I'm not back quite yet…but before I say any more, I need you to promise me something."_

_Naruto nodded, just as serious as she was. Maybe he'd matured during the time she'd been gone…but somehow Sakura just couldn't see that as being true. This was more likely to be one of the few occasions when Naruto just happened to understand that the situation called for being serious. Just in case he didn't know how serious she was, though, Sakura placed both her hands on his shoulders, making sure she had his attention before she spoke._

"_Naruto, I need you to promise me something…and this is very important." She paused a moment, letting that part sink in before moving on (with Naruto you could never be too careful when it came to his uptake on a situation), "No matter what happens, support Tsunade. You must help her do what is best for the Village as a whole…what will save the most lives…no matter what."_

_Naruto put his hands on her elbows, his face worried, "You know I'd follow Granny Tsunade's orders, she's the Hokage. What are you worried about, Sakura? You sound as if you expect trouble for Konoha and…well…it sounds like your saying you won't be there to help. What's wrong? What is it?"_

_Shaking her head, Sakura stepped back, out of his reach, "I can't tell you that. You'll know when the time comes. Just…please, just promise me!"_

"_I promise, but why can't you tell me?" His face looked desperate, as if he instinctively knew that she was preparing to flee._

_Sakura took another step back as Naruto took one forward, "I just can't. It…it's something like what will happen if you tell someone not to look. 'Cause when you tell someone not to look, they'll mechanically look to see what it is they are not supposed to see…and…I cannot let that happen. You'll understand soon…the thing's already happened, sadly, and I'm sure Tsunade already knows." _

_Sakura looked at the sun, or more to the point, at the place where dream Sakura sat in the tree, then took more steps back as she said hastily, "I have to go before they notice I'm gone. I wasn't supposed to come here today. I had to switch places with Ayaka to get out, but…someone…will come to replace her and Tobi, and they'll definitely notice that she's not me. I have to get back before that. I'll see you…and remember, support Tsunade!" Without another word, Sakura turned and disappeared into the forest. Naruto only followed her with his eyes. After that, there came another dream about the future._

* * *

Li dismissed Pein not long after sending his daughter to bed. Now it was only him and Itachi. "I don't believe you said one word back there Itachi." Itachi only 'hn'ed. Li sighed, "Fine, how about this then: what do you think about my daughter's little plan? And be truthful too."

Itachi didn't like having to speak, but an order was an order, "As things currently stand, I don't think it would work. Her heart is in the right place, but politics and hearts don't always coincide."

Li nodded, "True, especially when the ones worried about politics don't know what my daughter does. Tell me, do you think that her heat's wish is a completely lost cause?"

Itachi thought a moment before answering, "If we were to demand that they submit to our control now, then yes, it would be. But if we waited and gave Konoha proof of how dangerous their situation is before giving our ultimatum, then there would be a chance…though I couldn't say how much of one."

The smile on Li's face gave nothing away as he said, "Very good. Now, how would we give them said proof?"

Itachi didn't answer right away as he thought, '_He's testing me._' The question was why. Then it hit him and he decided to give a more…_not_-answer, "Why ask, when you already know?" To his surprise, his Master chuckled.

Moving his finger from side to side, Li chided almost playfully, "Now, now, answering a question with a question is no good!" Itachi didn't say anything, he just looked at Li emotionlessly. A long silence followed and Li lowered his hand back to the table with a shrug.

* * *

_Sakura's next dream wasn't a single, solid dream like before, but a collage of other set and possible future happenings. In one, she saw her father covered in countless cuts as he looked at one of many screens. On said screen stood the Grass Village…or what was left of it…and even that__ wasn't very much._

_Her father was shaking his head, muttering to another screen (this one with Hiraku in it), "Even with your wonderful statue, those beasts are still near impossible to control. All I wanted was to make an example of them. Well, I guess I got that and more. Oh, and their backlash on __me__ wasn't any fun either. Remind me not to use them for any longer than, oh…ten minutes. If I did, I'd probably have no skin left."_

_The dream changed, and this time it was quite blurry. She was older…and very pregnant. With her were the young boy and the two toddlers from one of her other dreams…her children…the thought still made her blush…and either Inuka or Hanako (she couldn't be sure, since hair length could have changed over the years). Whichever twin it was, she was carrying the two sleeping tots as they walked to what must have been Sakura's home._

_They put the children to bed, then the pregnant Sakura said goodnight to her cousin and went up to get ready for bed. It was only then that Sakura noticed what her pregnant self was wearing. She wore a unscathed Leaf forehead protector, yet at the same time, she wore the Akatsuki robe…and she was wearing them in the same style as she had when she'd first come to the Akatsuki's hideout and found out it was too cold to go without said robe: forehead protector actually on her forehead and robe open to show the clothes she wore underneath._

_Even though the pregnant Sakura was ready for bed, she didn't lay down. Instead she went to look out the window, apparently getting lost in thought. Time started to fly by, but for some reason as Sakura watched her other self stare into space, she got an odd sense of déjá vu. She didn't contemplate the feeling long, though, because another person appeared on the scene. It was Itachi._

_Without warning, the dream changed again. This time the picture was crystal clear, and so was the fact that these dreams were _not _in chronological order. She couldn't see any obvious difference between her current self and her self in the dream, so this would probably be happening relatively soon._

_The main focus of the dream was a cake…with sixteen candles…and her surrounded by most of the Akatsuki (luckily she didn't see the creepy plant guy or Pein, though there were other people there that she _didn't _know). As both Sakuras looked at the cake, the one who was dreaming knew that they were both wondering who made it and…how safe the cake was. This _was _the Akatsuki after all. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had blown up in her other self's face. Luckily, though, it didn't…meaning it wasn't Deidara who cooked it…and _that _was probably a good thing in more than one way._

_The dream fast forwarded through their eating and didn't return to normal until a few people had already given her gifts. Deidara was just thrusting a box in her direction, his face turned away as if he didn't care. However, from Sakura's dream position, she could see very well that Deidara's face was red. 'I'll have to remember to ask him about that when it hap-' her thoughts were cut off as she noticed her other self open her mouth to speak, only to have Itachi tap her on the shoulder, then motion for her to come with him._

_Both Sakuras were a little miffed at not being able to find out why Deidara was acting so…unlike Deidara…but the other Sakura shrugged, set down Deidara's gift with all the others, and left the crowded room with Itachi. As Sakura followed them out, she noticed Yuri and Ayaka smiling like crazy…that wasn't too hard to believe for Ayaka, but Yuri…that was a different story. What was going on? She wasn't going to find out, because after the door closed and Itachi had begun to reach into his Akatsuki robe, the dream cut off once more. Yet another dream took it's place._

* * *

An even longer silence followed until Li cleared his throat and started speaking on a rather different subject. "Sakura takes after her mother a lot. This includes, I do believe, her choice in guys." Despite Itachi's best efforts, something must have given away his shock at the subject choice (either that, or Li was a mind reader), because Li smirked and said causally, "Don't forget, Junko abandoned her village, at least at heart, because she loved me."

Itachi's eyes narrowed so slightly that anyone other than Li probably would have missed it. "Sakura is still fighting to save Konoha in her own way. She hasn't abandoned her village."

A small, unreadable, smile crept onto Li's face for a second before being ironed out, "She won't abandon her village, that's true, but…will her village abandon her? That has yet to be seen. Don't forget, she is my heir and your…girlfriend. Konoha's elders are very ridged…her blood alone may be enough for them to exile her. That _is _one of the reasons why I staged my own death, after all. You two being together will only worsen her chances of being accepted."

Itachi prepared to say something, but Li beat him to it, waving his hand dismissively, "Yes, I know, that brings us back to our previous discussion of pre-ultimatum actions, but-" Li's face became frighteningly serious as his hand returned to its previous position on the table, "that we can talk about later. I brought this up for a reason…and that reason is _her_, my one and only beloved daughter." Li's presence was like a weight in the room, ready to smash any unfortunate soul who made a wrong move.

Itachi, though, wasn't fazed by this show of fatherly…_over-protectiveness_…he was prone to it himself after all (short of the fatherly part), and he knew how _not _to make a 'wrong move'. It helped that he'd already been prepared for this. Truly it was pointless, what he was about to say, since both parties knew already what was going to transpire, but for ceremony's sake, it had to be done.

Looking Li squarely in the eye, Itachi said as seriously as any Uchiha could, given the circumstances, "I would like your permission to ask for Sakura's hand in marriage."

* * *

Tada, end of Chapter…had you figured some of these things out? And what's with Deidara? That part was courtesy of Sui-chan. She pointed out something that she said was _obviously _the ways things were…even if I, the author, didn't know it. Sorry, Sui-chan, but that's probably as far as it's going to get on that matter. Oh, and to anyone who doesn't see _that_ (Deidara's problem)even after this last chapter…well, don't feel bad. If not for Sui-chan, I'd be in the same place as you…and if you do understand, great for you!

I'm sorry for yet another two week wait, but life (and illness…stupid colds) are not nice. I may as well not plan to post the next chapter for two (or three, if needed) weeks instead of one, 'cause I probably wouldn't make it. For those who want me to update more often, I'm really sorry, and to those who want me to wait longer between updates…uh…you're welcome? (there really are both) Well, anyway, I'll try to update by February 14th(Valentines Day!), I'll try hard.

Reviews (both signed and anonymous), constructive criticism, and people going to my forum/DeviantART page can have a cyber-plushy (I'll leave it up to you to decide of whom). I shouldn't have to say this, but I will: cyber-plushies are extremely flammable. Enough said, now, onto the _pretty list_.

Thanks to: Tabeko, LovelyLittleAngel144, xXSasuxSakuXx, SpeedDemon315, icinnamonx3, QueenThayet12990, xoBreathe, ItaDeiPei, Okinawa Angel, bellacullen3, Hao'sAnjul, anonymous, KurenaiBara-chan (one fell on me, making me fall on the other, but I'm fine now!), Black Fire Blossom, MinaKoi9 (yes, I know that her birthday is in spring, march 28th to be exact), So Happily Unsatisfied (no, he was too tired to remember how he'd gotten to where he was), xokatherine229, .assassinator (not all addictions are bad, and this is one of them), 2014mw, krazykoreangurl (yes), Juniper11 (thank you for the long review! I never said how he knew, but most likely is that Itachi knew how old Little Sakura was, and was able to put two and two together) & for reviewing!


	60. And the Circle Comes Round

Disclaimer: Give me a break already…do you know how hard it is to come up with over a hundred different disclaimers! (NOT a question!)

**AN****: **Oh, and sorry for the long wait, but, hey, at least this is extremely long.

**Chapter 60: And the Circle Comes Round  
**

_**Fourteen years later**_

Sakura moved to her windowsill, keeping the curtains closed tightly as she turned to her seven year old twins. They had recently undergone the awakening, despite their youth, and this would be their first eclipse. Given their age, she'd decided to keep them inside, away from all windows until the eclipse was almost over. She didn't want them overexerting themselves on their first Viewing like she had all those years ago.

"Ok, Hikaru, Akira, listen closely to me." Turning to her son first, she said, "As the eldest Hoshi of your generation and a Spirit Walker you must come to understand what will happen, Akira. For, as I'm sure your uncle has told you, it is very similar to what happens when you seek out a spirit. If you can catch the feeling this gives you and can harness it, you'll have an easier time of things later."

Turning next to Hikaru, she said, "And you, my daughter, are the only other Time Walker besides myself, and thus you must become familiar with it. After all, should anything befall me before another Time Walker is born, you will automatically be the next Pillar…" Sakura trailed off as she thought about how she didn't like it. That was one tradition she couldn't get rid of.

She didn't like the idea of forcing her child, or any child for that matter, to have to lead a clan, even one as small as their own. Even worse than in other clans, though, being the leader of the Hoshi meant you had access to the Great Knowing. And as she had learned, the Pillar had to access the Great Knowing often, whether she (or he) liked it or not, because the Pillar was the _only _one who could.

She didn't like it, but she understood it. There had to be a Pillar: the Great Knowing was too dangerous a tool to allow anyone and everyone access to…and too heavy a burden to expect anyone without the proper training and control to be able to carry without going crazy.

As it was, she knew some people already wondered if she wasn't crazy. She had, after all, _according to rumor_, agreed to sacrifice herself and marry Itachi Uchiha (the reasons Itachi had wanted to marry her varied from rumor to rumor, but no rumor included Sakura having wanted to marry him in return) so that he would stop the Akatsuki from utterly annihilating Konoha…which it had been on the verge of doing at the time; and the people of Konoha knew what to expect by then.

At the time, the Akatsuki had already annihilated Grass (in a single day the village had been wiped off the face of the planet without any warning) and then they had dealt with Lightning. What happened to Grass showed Konoha how easily the Akatsuki could utterly destroy them, but it was Lightning that made them decide (with only a little delay) to agree to the ultimatum the Akatsuki eventually gave them.

Lightning, unlike Grass, was given demands similar to what Konoha would latter be given. Lightning's leaders had, of course, not agreed to their demands and then declared war…they soon paid for their idiocy. What was surprising about this story however, was how, or more to the point, who, paid for the idiocy.

Unlike with Grass, the Akatsuki didn't demolish the whole village with one deadly stroke of their new, ungodly power. They used this power instead to destroy only parts of the village. As rumor had it, the only ones who died in this first show of power were the politicians who had turned down the offer. When the village only appointed new politicians and their ninja tried to attack the Akatsuki representative (Sakura knew it to have been Konan), who had come to deliver their ultimatum, though, something extraordinary and horrifying happened.

The rumors said that the terrible power the Akatasuki commanded fell from the sky like lightning, destroying the ninja who had begun to attack, as well as anyone who tried to attack after _that_. Soon the people tried no more, for they knew it was useless. However, there was one more thing that happened before the Akatsuki representative came forward once more, and it happened to a mixed group of ninja and normal citizens (one of which was the newly appointed leader of the village) who were whispering amongst one another heatedly.

They were arguing, as anyone could see, but not even the people beside them could understand what they were saying, for they were speaking in some sort of code that only they knew. People watched in horror as the 'lightning' fell on this group, believing that everyone would die for merely talking in code. To their surprise, though, only four of the group died. The greatest surprise, however, came latter, when they found out from their new leader that, supposedly, the four who died were the only ones completely for attacking the Akatsuki, the others hadn't been sure.

The rumors said that this caused those left alive in the Lightning village to agree when the ultimatum was finally given. After all, who wanted to fight against a power that could not only kill you in an instant, but could apparently read your mind, or at least your loyalties, as well.

What the rumors didn't know, however, was that it had been Sakura who had controlled the attack on Lighting (if she hadn't, her father would have killed the whole village as he had Grass, since, for some reason, she had much more control over the trapped tailed-beasts than he did: she could limit who was killed, where as he couldn't), and that she knew what the people who were arguing were saying thanks to the Knowing, not mind reading.

Well, needless to say, after that show of power (along with the warning Sakura had given Tsunade in her letter), the fifth Hokage was unhappily forced to agree to the Akatsuki's demands so that her people would live. Once she arranged everything as favorably as she could for Konoha (this included retaining most of it's self-government with a little help from behind the scenes by Sakura) she stepped down from power and appointed Naruto as the sixth Hokage.

Sakura repressed a sigh as she returned her attention to her children. "Now you two, make sure you're comfortable before we open the curtains. Once you catch sight of the eclipse, you won't be able to move until it has ended."

A childish smirk lit up their faces as they chorused in union, "Like you four years ago!" The story behind their statement was quite simple. That year Sakura had been pregnant with her quads (according to her cousins, multiples were quite common amongst the Hoshis) and had woken up one night. Without thinking she had gotten up and gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she'd been reaching for a cup on a shelf, however, she'd looked out the window and caught the beginning of a lunar eclipse. Needless to say, she'd been quite sore when she was finally released.

Sakura fought to keep her own smile from appearing outwardly, though she wasn't quite sure she was winning. "Yes, exactly. Now, if you're ready," the twins' heads bobbed up and down, perfectly in sync with each other, "than we can-" Sakura found herself being interrupted by a shrieking from the next room over.

Suddenly her eleven-year-old son burst into the room, holding his newest baby sister in his arms. He scrambled over to her like the sky was falling and stammered, "She-she's crying! And, and, I don't know what's wrong! And she won't quit, and-" Sakura chuckled as she took the baby out of her terrified son's arms. Normally Takeshi acted like the Chunin he was (he definitely took after his father when it came to his ninja skills), but when it came to his two little sisters, he was always skittish. She sometimes wondered if he feared that a feather would break them.

With the ease of practice Sakura rocked the baby, cooing gently until she fell asleep. As she looked down at her peaceful slumbering face, Sakura couldn't help but be glad that Itachi had (somehow) persuaded her to not give up until they'd had a second girl (something about Hikaru being lonely). Handing her back to the still tense Takeshi, Sakura smiled gently, "Yuki should be fine now. If she starts up again, though, you'll have to try to get a hold of Hinata or Ino and ask them come help, because your aunts and uncle will be, well, doing what we'll be doing."

Takeshi nodded, his face slowly becoming serious once more, "I know, mother; you didn't have to tell me." He didn't wait for her reply as he turned and left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, giggles erupted from behind her. Turning, she found the twins in each other's arms, quivering with laughter.

Smiling, Sakura patted them on the head, "Come now, you should be used to it by now." As the two split apart and settled back into their previous positions she continued, "After all, before she was born, he was acting exactly the same way with you, Hikaru."

Sakura thought Hikaru blushed, but she couldn't be sure since her face was still red from laughing; that is, until she spoke, "He was never that bad with me!" Both Sakura and Akira rolled their eyes at this blatantly obtuse statement. Noticing this, Hikaru added, "It's true! He's worse with her because she's only a few days old!" Mother and son just shook their heads, knowing smiles on their face.

Turning back to the curtains, Sakura repeated, "Now that we're ready, lets begin." With one tug of her hand, the curtains parted, and the dull light of a solar eclipse entered the room. Looking at the sun, Sakura felt the time paradox grab ahold of her. That's truly what this was, for as she'd found out, the reason eclipses caused this phenomena was because during that time, the time continual and the Great Knowing were both closer than normal to both each other and the 'present', thus allowing all Hoshis to catch a glimpse of the continuous circle of time.

* * *

_Sakura watched as the eclipse rewound her life before her. She was hiding from bullies in a back ally, then on missions with team seven, then fighting Sasori, then being captured by the Akatsuki, then finding out Sasuke had destroyed Sound and disappeared, and then about her getting married to Itachi._

_Time swirled around her as yet more visions came to her._

"_Ayaka!" called a very angry Sakura who was lying on a bed accompanied by two pink haired three-year-olds and a black haired seven-year-old; her stomach was way too round, explaining why she had yelled rather than gotten up to fetch Ayaka._

"_Yes, Lady Uchiha?" Asked Ayaka unperturbed as she entered the room. The twins were sitting on their mother's bed, their eyes wide and questioning while Takeshi just stood there, a smirk on his face. Noticing this, Ayaka quirked an eyebrow at him, then turned to hear what Sakura had to say._

"_Ayaka, will you please beat up Deidara for me?" Ayaka took a step back in surprise, leading Sakura to explain, motioning first towards the little girl, then rubbing her temples, "He was teaching Hikaru how to make a __bomb__! I'd do it myself if I wasn't stuck on bed rest, but, alas, I am until the babies are born, so I need you to do so for me."_

"_But," Ayaka exclaimed, "Lady Uchiha, I can't!"_

_Sakura rolled her eyes, "I've told you countless times, you don't have to call me that. And why can't you?"_

_Ayaka blushed, then almost wailing she vowed, "Well, if I beat up on him," she stuttered for a moment then continued in a much quieter voice, "he'll fall in love with me!"_

_Sakura tilted her head confusedly (the twins copied her movement cutely behind her), "What are you talking about?" _

"_Wh…but…you…" Ayaka stuttered, "You mean you haven't __noticed__?"_

"_Noticed?" Sakura's voice was very seriously confused, "Noticed what?"_

_Ayaka shook her head, "Uh…never mind then." There was a moment's pause as three pink haired people stared at her wide eyed. Ayaka sighed, her shoulders slumping, "Fine, I'll go teach him a lesson." Standing straighter than before, Ayaka then stressed, "The only reason I'm doing it, though, is because __you__ asked me to. Remember that!" Without another word, Ayaka trudged out of the room, calling for Deidara._

"_Mother," began her younger son, "what was that about?"_

_Shaking her head, Sakura whispered, "You know, Akira, I have no clue either." It was only after she trailed off that she noticed that the room was not silent. Takeshi was snickering. When he noticed her looking at him, he just smirked, then walked out of the room, still chuckling. As he exited, she thought she heard him cough, then say, 'Oblivious'._

_The scene changed, and now it appeared to be Ayaka's birthday and Sakura (who was no longer pregnant) was holding a small party for her. Deidara was offering Ayaka a present, his red face turned away from her. Ayaka took the present, her face pink, and Sakura heard her mumble to herself, "I knew this was going to happen." And once again, she heard Takeshi snickering in the background._

_The scene changed again, and now she was witnessing her quad's second birthday. Both sets of identical twins were tottering around on their chubby little legs, looking for all the world like little angles…that is, until the oldest, black-haired child, Haru pushed the youngest, pink-haired child, Kohaku down. Kohaku started screaming as Haru tried to take the toy out of his hands. _

_Instantly the mess worsened as the mirror images of both boys entered the mix, the black-haired Ryu went to help his twin while the pink-haired Kaoru did the same thing for his twin. The whole shindig would have become an utter disaster if, at that moment, Itachi hadn't walked into the room. All four instantly sprang apart, looking guilty as Itachi's eyes landed on them. That didn't last long, though; soon all four were running to their father, their faces lit with glee as they flung themselves at him._

_The scene changed yet again. Now Sakura was sitting with Hanako, Noya, and their little girls. Sakura was speaking quietly so as not to wake the two girls who were sleeping on Hanako's lap, but her voice was excited, "Guess what's going to happen to Inuka soon!"_

_A smile on his face, Noya asked, "What has that silly cousin of ours done this time?" He then turned to said cousin's sister and added, "No offense to you, of course." Hanako shrugged, then motioned for Sakura to continue._

"_It's a good thing you're sitting down, because you won't believe this." Sakura's smile only widened as she went on, "Inuka's finally decided to get married!" Both of her cousins' mouths dropped open, just the reaction she'd expected._

_Hanako sputtered, "Wh-what? B-but, she hadn't said anything about that to me! I mean, sure they've been dating for three years, and they practically grew up together, but… When did she decide this and why wasn't I told?"_

_Noya tried to calm his over exuberant wife down while Sakura just watched. She hadn't been too surprised when, five years ago, they'd decided to get married, even though they were cousins. Their temperaments complemented each other, and both adhered more strictly to the old Hoshi ways than did Inuka. Sakura wasn't sure if they had married because thy truly loved each other (more than family love, because __that__, she knew they had) or if they had done so to keep the Hoshi bloodline strong. One way or the other, though, their marriage seemed to be a happy one, so, no matter their reasons, she couldn't complain about their doing so._

_When Sakura was sure that it was safe to begin speaking again, she explained, "Inuka just didn't want everyone to know until she had everything planed out. The only reason she told me was because I am a part of her plans. Since she doesn't have a father, and I am the Pillar, she decide that she wanted me to do for her as I did for you; namely, she wants me to hand her off in her father's place." Pausing to look at Hanako's face, Sakura decided to add, "And she asked me to inform you that she'll speak to you tonight, once she gets back from work."_

_Hanako's face suddenly brightened, no longer feeling left out by her twin. Petting the younger sleeping girls' hair, she asked quietly, "So, who proposed to whom?"_

_Sakura snickered, she knew what Hanako was getting at. "Don't worry, this time it wasn't Inuka who finally got up the nerve to propose, but Tobi." Three years ago, after knowingly pining for each other for half a year (Sakura had a feeling they'd liked each other for much longer), it had been Inuka who had finally asked Tobi out._

_Her view went white, and in the silence that followed, she saw a shape far ahead of her. Then a voice carried to her over the vast nothingness, rustic with age, but not raspy as had been her great grandmother's. It was the same voice that she had heard in many of her dreams lately. It belonged to an old woman who always seemed to be just out of sight. This time, however, Sakura could have sworn the distance between her and the distant voice was less. She thought she could almost see a shimmer of water near the shape in the distance…but she wasn't sure. As in all dreams past, the voice repeated a prophecy._

"_The blood that blossoms,_

_bound in truth;_

_lies foretold_

_in homeroom. _

_catastrophics left unsaid, _

_breath held until the end._

_The blood that blossoms _

_from the roots, _

_cometh forth _

_from new shoots. _

_Shoots and roots interwound, _

_death defying without a sound._

_The blood that blossoms, _

_bound in truth, _

_after eighth bud institute, _

_return to roots _

_soon will come, _

_once the phoenix game is done."_

_Normally this was where the dream would end, but this time the voice said something else as it faded away, "The fire…soon…prepare…life is forfeit." _

* * *

Sakura came out of her trance suddenly as the sun returned to normal. Turning, she saw her children slump against each other, weary smiles on their faces. Even such a short period of time had exhausted them, but that was what she'd expected, so she'd made sure they were ready for bed before she opened the curtains. Standing up, Sakura herded the twins out of the room and to their beds.

That finished, Sakura went to check up on her other children. The quads were easy to find, they were having their afternoon naps in the next room over. It took a bit of searching to find her eldest, but eventually she found him sparring with his father in the backyard. Leaning against the door-frame, Sakura watched them, noticing how much Takeshi had taken after his father. Truly, if not for a few of his personality traits (such as his _non_-antisocial behavior and his love of little kids; though Sakura figured _that _came from having so many younger siblings), he'd be exactly the same. Takeshi had even begun to grow out his hair like his father's.

Shaking her head ruefully, Sakura went back inside to make dinner. Normally she'd have joined them, but not today. She'd prefer not to overdo things so soon after having given birth…at least, not if she could help it. After all, tomorrow she and Takeshi were going to go take baby Yuki to visit her grandfather.

Itachi would normally have come as well, but there had been signs of a possible large-scale attack in the near future (it was hard for her father to destroy ninja when he didn't know where to look for them, and it was hard for Sakura to pinpoint and tell him people's position in a forest…trees tended to all look the same), and Li had ordered him to stay.

* * *

That night, Sakura dreamt the same dream she'd been dreaming since she'd gotten pregnant with Yuki. It was a memory of her first visit to the Great Knowing. Last night, her dream had ended at the point where she had left the Great Knowing; this time, just as every time before, her dream progressed farther than it had the night before.

_For a long time, Sakura couldn't find her voice as she mulled over Mei's story. Eventually thought, she turned her mind away from that and thought of her next question, "Could you tell me how Konoha is doing? How are my friends? Is Tsunade better? Has Hinata recovered? Has Neji? And what about Naruto? How-"_

"I can only answer one thing at a time, child. Calm down and let me begin to answer._" Sakura closed her mouth and nodded, distantly noticing that she really wasn't feeling any pain at all right now, not from her headache, her throat, or that guy's Jutsu. She didn't have time to wonder why though, because Silver began to speak again._

"Tsunade is recovering at a natural pace, but is still unable to use her medical Jutsu. Before you ask, yes, it is being caused by Hachino in order to keep her weak and unable to speed up the village's recovery rate; thus keeping the Leaf village too busy to search for you. I'm sure you can take a gander as to at least one reason why he wouldn't want you found, so I won't waste your time giving all the reasons._"_

"Neji will eventually make a full recovery, but it will still be a while. His injuries were borderline lethal. Physically Hinata is completely healed, however, emotionally she is dealing with a number of gaping wounds. Her father's death came as a horrible shock for her; and Neji being at death's door…well, it's a good thing he's been recovering. That's one wound that that is mending, at least. And then there's Naruto…the poor girl's worried sick about him. He's-_"_

_At this point in her previous dream, Sakura had been shot out of the Great Knowing, and the dream had ended, but not this time. This time, things went differently than she remembered. She didn't remember being told at this time what had happened to Naruto, but in this dream, Silver continued, "_He's dying because he's been captured by the A-_"_

_With the shock of hearing that Naruto was dying, Sakura involuntarily jerked back. That instant of inattentiveness to Silver, and Silver alone, caused her to catch a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye. Sakura froze, caught up in a vision. She was grappling with a huge man, bombs adorning his entire body like a bulky wetsuit. Sakura knew Deidara would have scoffed at their simplicity…but simplicity didn't make them any less dangerous._

_The man was trying to ignite the bombs, and a beat-up Sakura was trying to stop him. But something was wrong…Sakura wasn't overpowering him. They looked to be in a stalemate…and just as Sakura thought that, someone else barreled into the picture, flinging Sakura off the other man and giving the him the time he needed to ignite the bombs. Sakura's hands were flying, putting together hand signs as there came a flash, and then-_

Sakura shot up in bed, covered in a cold-sweat. Breathing heavily, Sakura brought her knees to her chest, and just as she had back when she was younger, she whispered to herself that it was just a dream…only now she knew otherwise. Her dreams were almost never _just _dreams. Dreams such as that tended to be premonitions of what could (not necessarily would) be…and this dream, this premonition, had been about- Sakura shivered as the thought hit her like a thunderstorm-'…_my death_…'

An arm snaked around her shoulders, making Sakura jump. But, of course, it was only Itachi. Leaning into his embrace, Sakura began to whisper an apology for having awoken him, but he cut her off by saying, "Shh. Whatever it was about, you can change it- just as you did all those other times." Kissing the top of her head he added, "But changing the future can wait 'til later. For now, sleep. You have a long day planed for tomorrow." With that, Sakura sighed and both of them laid down once more. As sleep crept upon her, Sakura was glad she only ever had the memory-dream once a night.

* * *

The next morning Sakura and Takeshi set off early with baby Yuki. Since this was a family visit to the Akatsuki, not a business one, Sakura didn't have to wear the Akatsuki robe. Even though when she did wear it, she always wore it open to show that she was not a true member of the Akatsuki (as well as always wearing her unscathed forehead protector), it was still blistering hot in the summer. She didn't know how Itachi did it.

They traveled quickly, stopping once for a quick lunch and only a few times for dipper changes. Never did they see another traveler. It was nearing three o'clock when their complacent surroundings abruptly changed. The path ahead that had been empty moments ago was suddenly filled with ordinary looking people. This in itself wouldn't have been too surprising; this was a well traveled path, after all, so it wouldn't be too hard to believe that a large group would be traveling on it.

What was surprising, however, was that she hadn't sensed them coming…which meant they had to be ninja. And if they were ninja-pretending-not-to-be-ninja…then this was most likely the band that was reportedly on it's way to attack Konoha. Sakura stiffened, then elbowed her son in the ribs as if he'd said something silly, effectively stopping him from doing or saying anything that would have given their identities away (as he'd been about to do).

Shifting Yuki in his arms he looked at her quizzically. Sakura barely gestured in the oncoming entourage's direction. He looked, and a moment later his brows furrowed as he noticed what she had noticed. Turning back to her, he whispered, "What should we do, mother? They're, well, _you know_," Sakura nodded, "and all of them are carrying such large packs; whatever's in them, it can't be good." she nodded again.

As the silence drew on she surveyed the group, and noticed that one tall man in the middle was wearing a brown cloak that obscured anyone's view of him…and unlike everyone else, he was not carrying a large pack. Sakura felt a tingling sensation in the back of her mind, but she didn't have time to explore into it. Instead, she thought over their options, and finally she decided on a course of action.

"Let's try to just walk past on the side of the road." She whispered, thankful that neither of them were wearing their forehead protectors or anything else that would single them out at the moment. "If nothing happens, we'll just walk on by, and as soon as they're out of sight, we'll run until we get to your grandfather's place. Then we'll have him, Pein, and Yuri help us deal with them before they get to Konoha."

"And if something _does _happen?"

Sakura smiled to herself. Of course he had caught that, "Then you complete the second part of that plan while I hold them off." Takeshi began to protest, but she cut him off, "If I say 'go', you will run for all you're worth. That's an order." Takeshi bit his lip, but nodded. He may have been a genius, he may have already been a Chunin, but first and foremost he was her son…and good children obey their parents…especially when they know they're right. He may have tried arguing one more time anyway, just to get his dislike of the plan across, if they hadn't come within hearing distance of the enemy.

They took to the side of the road, letting the larger group pass them. With abated breaths they walked casually onward, hoping that no one saw them as anything more than a mother and her children. They had almost passed them by, when suddenly Sakura heard a gasp and the word 'pink'.

It was in that moment that Sakura cursed herself for forgetting that pink hair was a dead give-a-way that she was a Hoshi, and thus lived in Konoha where the few still living Hoshi resided. "Go." She whispered as she turned to meet the five men that were rushing her. She could only hit one thing at a time, and in order to stop others from chasing after her son, she raised her fist and shattered the ground rather than the faces of her opponents. It worked, and soon it was just her and them…just the way she wanted it.

* * *

Sakura wiped blood from mouth, glaring up at the large man in the brown cloak, the one whose face she had yet to see. She'd done perfectly well against the others, but halfway through the fight, this man had suddenly made his comrades retreat and continue on to Konoha while he stopped her from delaying them anymore (as she'd been intending to do all along).

At first she'd thought him stupid, but she quickly learned that he was a thousand times better than those wearing the packs. No wonder he hadn't been laden down with the extra weight; he was probably their strongest member. Essentially their bodyguard.

Sakura took a step back just in time to dodge the man's fist. She'd already learned once that those fists weren't something to be taken lightly. This man was insanely strong. On top of his strength, he could take her Chakra enhanced punches as if they were normal punches. That was not a good sign. Breathing heavily, Sakura cursed herself for the second time that day. All her weapons had been in the bag that Takeshi had taken with him and the baby.

Clenching her hand, Sakura ducked under his next punch. As she came up, she straightened her hand, creating a Chakra scalpel and slicing up with it in hopes of hitting internal organs. She missed, however, as the man noticed her move, though he probably didn't understand it's purpose. He jumped back just in time to save his skin (and organs)…however, his obscuring cloak was another matter.

The cloak fell to pieces, reveling to Sakura her enemy for the first time…only this _wasn't _the first time. The man now standing before her was wrapped in a skintight layer of bombs, just as he had been in her dream. For a moment, Sakura thought the world stopped moving as, his secret having been revealed, the man began to reach for the trigger. Sakura instantly jumped the man, forcing his arms away from where they had been going. She only just remembered what had happened in the dream a moment before the man's comrade returned and barreled into her.

As Sakura was flung away, she knew she'd given her children time to evacuate the area the bombs would encompass (the area would probably be quite large, given their sheer numbers), and of that she was happy, but…she didn't want to die…not yet. As she hit the ground, a thought returned the favor.

She wouldn't be able to move her body away from the area in time, but…there was still a chance she could escape the blast…if she could go back in time. Sakura swiftly righted herself on the ground thinking quickly. Though she knew she didn't have the Scroll of the Circle with her, she didn't count that as a major disadvantage. She was a Time Walker. She could traverse the circle of time without a scroll. It would just be harder.

_Hard_…but not _impossible_.

Sakura knew the principle of Time Walking without using the Scroll of the Circle, thanks to the Great Knowing, but she never had done so before. Throwing these thoughts aside, Sakura didn't waste anymore time; instead she let her hands fly as fast as she could make them go, praying she'd make it in time. If she could only finish and get out of there a moment before the blast reached her, she'd live. She didn't care how far she went back, so long as she did. The situation was suddenly a race with time.

The man was reaching down-she was getting close-his fingers found whatever it was they'd been looking for-she was almost there-he pressed down-just two more-the ignition process began-just one more-the bomb exploded.

Sakura saw white light through her tightly closed eyes-

-and then-

-nothing.

Sakura opened her eyes wearily, wondering if she'd made it in time, or if she was dead. Everything was pure white. Sighing sadly, she said aloud, "I guess I didn't make it in time…I must be dead. I-"

Sakura would have continued if a familiar voice hadn't rang in the air around her, speaking in the Ancient Language, "You have not died yet, _Kirschebluesse_." Startled, Sakura looked around frantically. For a moment, she saw only white, but then a glimmer in the distance caught her eye. It was only then that she noticed how similar this place was to what she'd seen only the day before during the solar eclipse. The voice had been familiar, because it was the old lady from her dreams, the one who always repeated that prophecy.

Sakura ran toward the distant glimmer floating in the sea of white light. She had no sense of time, but it felt like merely a moment before she found herself standing at a break in the sea of white. In it's place was a river of black, and far in the distance she could see where the sea of white continued on the other side of the black river. Connecting the two white banks was a bridge of grey, and on the far end of the bridge was the woman, bent over with age, but striding toward the bridge of grey as if she weren't old.

Sakura followed suite, going directly to the bridge. She didn't know why, but she got the feeling that touching the black river would be a very bad thing. She didn't even know why she called it a river. It wasn't flowing, as far as she could tell, and there didn't seem to be any space between it and the grey bridge, and yet…it felt like something that had to be crossed over, not waded through. 'River' and 'bridge' just felt right.

Unlike when she'd been crossing the sea of white, it felt like it took an eternity to slog along the bridge. Each step was a hard won battle. She was concentrating so hard on simply placing one foot in front of the other that she didn't even know she'd reached the middle of the bridge until she saw two feet standing before her. Looking up, she found the white haired, blue eyed, old woman. And it was only then that she came to know _true _old age. She couldn't even begin to guess how many years this woman had lived through; for up close, Sakura knew she was seeing a walking time capsule.

A smile crept onto the ancient woman's face, as if she knew what Sakura had just thought; she then chuckled. It was a warm (if, slightly sad) sound, not the dry rasp her great-grandmother had brought her to hate, and Sakura couldn't help but smile in return. As the laughter died down, the ancient woman began to speak once more in the Ancient Language, "Yes, _Kirschebluesse_,it has been a long time…a long time indeed."

Sakura, having heard that word for the second time, asked, also in the Ancient Language, "Why are you calling me…_Kirschebluesse_? My name's Sakura."

"Because," began the ancient woman as if it were obvious, "you need to know your real name." Without waiting for Sakura to ask, she added, "You may call me by what you already know me to be." It only took a second for the implication to set in, then Sakura gasped as realization hit her.

"You're the World Walker!" It only took a moment more for her to add as she thought about the prophecy she had been repeating to Sakura in her dreams, "And you're the one who wrote the journal- or at least, the prophesy at the end!"

The ancient woman, _the World Walker_, nodded nonchalantly, "I did play a part in that, though I won't tell you _what _part. You'll figure that out on your own eventually." The World Walker probably would have continued speaking if Sakura hadn't blurted out the thought that just fell on her.

"That prophesy…it was…about _me_!" The woman nodded in silence, which was broken by Sakura's sudden question, "But why, and what does it all mean?"

The World Walker smiled and answered patiently, "It was not made for you to figure out in time, only for you to find. It is so the next Pillar will one day be able to figure out what has happened to you. As to what it means, well, why don't you say what you have worked out so far? Then we shall know what I need not explain."

Sakura puzzled over the odd wording of the World Walker's last sentence, but answered anyway, "I now know that 'the blood that blossoms' is referring to me through the myth about cherry blossoms getting their color from blood. The 'lies told' and what was 'left unsaid' probably has to do with me not telling Itachi about the dream I had about my death. I can also tell that the 'eighth bud institute' was talking about Yuki since she was my eighth child, but, what about the rest? What's with the roots and shoots and…and _phoenixes_?"

The World Walker nodded her head, but to Sakura's dismay, didn't give a satisfactory answer, "Good, then I need not explain anything." Sakura couldn't help pouting childishly. She wanted a real answer, and the ancient woman standing hunched over before her knew it…and ignored it. "Now, to explain where we are, and what the situation is."

She didn't give Sakura time to say anything about the change in subject, she just went on, "That over there," she waved her hand at the white sea Sakura had just come from, "is your _World_. That back there," she motioned behind herself, "is another, connected yet different World." There came the slightest of pauses, then, "Now, time is a _single _continuous circle, but it is all the different times, all the different circles, that make up the links of an ongoing chain-link fence. Every link a different World."

"As the World Walker," she explained, "I am employed by what you would know as the Great Knowing to traverse all the circles. My job is to influence events in Worlds when they need it most. Sometimes I make another World be born, other times I stop Worlds from coming into existence, but in both cases I have to go to the exact place where the new World has the capability of coming from. In a way, you could say I have to find a specific fork in the entire time stream, and then I have to influence what will happen with that path."

She took a few breaths, then went on, "Time Walkers influence time when they traverse their circle. However, they can only make things as they were meant to be because it is _their own _World. It is the same principle that allows me to change what needs to be changed in Worlds not my own. I am an outside entity to these Worlds, so there is no set path for me to take, and thus I can forge my own."

"This," she motioned to the grey bridge below their feet, "is the only connection point between this World and that World. Such connections exist amongst all Worlds. I was the first person to ever be able to find that this connection-between-worlds even existed, and you will be the last." Sakura just stared, too startled to even jump in surprise. The World Walker continued as if Sakura's eyes weren't bugging out at her abrupt statement.

"I've lived way too long, as you've noticed. I've lived so long that even Orochimaru would have envied me." If that was a joke, Sakura didn't find it funny. A smile lit the World Walker's face as she noticed this and explained, "What's funny is that Orochimaru was searching for eternal youth, and he failed miserably. Meanwhile I, who never sought such, found as close to it as existed. However, no one lives forever. Even if his horrid experiments had worked, and he just kept extending his life, he would have still one day just up and died. After all, death is a necessary aspect of life. You cannot escape it."

Her chuckles were fleeting as she quickly continued what she'd been saying. "My time is nearing it's end, but yours is only just beginning. When I die, you will be the World Walker." Sakura's jaw dropped.

Without warning, the World Walker walked past Sakura, towards the sea of white that Sakura had vacated. As she walked, she motioned towards the black river, stating without turning around, "Once I'm gone, lower yourself into there. It will take you to the Great Knowing, or, more to the point, those you know as Silver and Orange. They will tell you everything else." Looking towards the black river, the World Walker's reflection caught her eye.

Sakura didn't think her jaw could drop any farther than it already had…but it did anyway. As she comprehended what she was seeing, she heard the World Walker say peacefully as, having stepped onto the sea of white, her body began to disappear, "…and the circle comes round." Sakura stared, her mind in utter chaos at the World Walker's disintegrating reflection…

…it was her own…

She had just met herself.

* * *

That's the End! For those who've been nagging at me to finish up, here you are. There is a poll up on my profile about what my next work could be about (though I will be taking a brake before I start working on another story).

I've put a one-shot (semi) SakuxSasu up called Nightmare if you'd like to read it (you'll understand what semi means when you read it).

As always, no flamer shall be allowed to step foot (or keyboard) into my domain. Now, onto the _pretty list_!

Thanks to: Juniper11, butterfliesofpurgatory, Tabeko, QueenThayet12990, xoBreathe, xokatherine229, I-Love-Akatsuki, Okinawa Angel, KurenaiBara-chan, Inner-me-is-chaos, bellacullen3, ItaDeiPei, Hao'sAnjul, icinnamonx3, So Happily Unsatisfied, NightWing101, All I Want For Xmas Is Ikuto, .assassinator, dark Alley, & vampire-queen4ever for reviewing!


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